Bonestell country
Looking southeast at Death Valley from Aguereberry Point (6283 ft, 1915 m) in the Panamint Mountains. Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at -282 ft (-86 m), is to the left. The peak at center is Smith Mountain, 5915 ft, 1803 m.
“Bonestell [painted landscapes of the Moon] ringed with rough, jagged peaks towering above the plains, similar to the barren landscape of Death Valley in his native California.
“[But the unexpected] smoothness of the lunar mountains became evident when Apollo 15 went to the Moon in 1971. To the disappointment of many, Bonestell’s vision of rugged, craggy peaks … gave way to an undramatic, smooth, undulating terrain, so bland that it was difficult to gain any perspective on distance. The sense of letdown among space buffs was widespread and illustrated most dramatically in a 1990 painting by David Hardy entitled ‘The Way It Should Have Been’ …”
— from “Chesley Bonestell and the Landscape of the Moon,” by Paul D. Spudis, Air and Space Magazine, June 14, 2012.
Bonestell country
Looking southeast at Death Valley from Aguereberry Point (6283 ft, 1915 m) in the Panamint Mountains. Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America at -282 ft (-86 m), is to the left. The peak at center is Smith Mountain, 5915 ft, 1803 m.
“Bonestell [painted landscapes of the Moon] ringed with rough, jagged peaks towering above the plains, similar to the barren landscape of Death Valley in his native California.
“[But the unexpected] smoothness of the lunar mountains became evident when Apollo 15 went to the Moon in 1971. To the disappointment of many, Bonestell’s vision of rugged, craggy peaks … gave way to an undramatic, smooth, undulating terrain, so bland that it was difficult to gain any perspective on distance. The sense of letdown among space buffs was widespread and illustrated most dramatically in a 1990 painting by David Hardy entitled ‘The Way It Should Have Been’ …”
— from “Chesley Bonestell and the Landscape of the Moon,” by Paul D. Spudis, Air and Space Magazine, June 14, 2012.