Artist Portfolio - Marc Simonetti

Where many artists failed, the French illustrator succeeded. Marc tells Gary Evans how he accurately drew most recognisable chair in fiction…

- Gary Evans

Marc Simonetti received a very detailed commission from an author. It described a throne – now perhaps the most famous throne not just in fantasy but in fiction. In the past, many artists attempted to illustrate this throne – including Marc – but nobody had yet got it quite right. This time, the French illustrator drew more than 50 versions. Still none of them worked. They somehow didn’t quite match the image in the author’s head.

The Iron Throne is a grotesque thing, described as being built using a thousand twisted steel blades. It’s big, too. So big that the king must climb steps to sit on it. Up to now, Marc had drawn the throne in silhouette. Then he came up with a new idea: he’d set the ugly throne against a beautiful background. The author, George RR Martin, liked what he saw.

“The Iron Throne worked once I did the background,” says the French illustrator. “Because picturing that big throne in a strong, beautiful environment balances out its ugliness. I just had to correct a few things and clean the piece. George said: ‘This is this one!’”

The Game of Thrones author was so impressed with the 2014 illustration – eventually published in companion book The World of Ice & Fire – that he suggested anyone who draws the throne in future should first consult Marc’s drawing. George said the French artist got it “absolutely right”.

“With some commissions,” Marc says, “I read the whole book and then submit an idea. On others, I attempt to answer a brief. But I always try to have at least one small thing that makes the illustration pop. I can see when an illustration is beginning to acquire a special kind of visual interest, because it starts to vibrate.”