Albert Robida (Born in 1848) was born in Compiègne, France. He died in 1926 in Neuilly. Robida was the founding father of science fiction art, and was among the early pioneers of science fiction. Despite suffering from severe myopia, as a child he had a strong passion for drawing. In 1865 Robida produced his first series of satiric cartoons at the age of 17, and two years later his parents permitted him to move to Paris after they recognized his creative talents. In Paris, at age 19, Robida began his career as a caricaturist and an illustrator for an array of trendy Parisian magazines, such as Le Polichinelle and La Chronique illustrée. He soon turned to journalizing the ensuing civil strife of the Paris Commune and the Franco-German War of 1870; his sketchbook and diary from this period contains 100s of detailed drawings. The artist traveled throughout Europe as a freelance correspondent, journalist and artist during the early years of the 3rd Republic before he settled in a Paris suburb in 1876 to raise a family.
In his lifetime he was known basically for the art he provided for editions of luxury literary works by Honoré de Balzac, Charles Perrault, François Rabelais and others, as well as for many illustrated books on urban history and architecture of France. His art is in many galleries today and they cause a lot of excitement among art students and art teachers. Whenever they are displayed, viewers often stand to take a second look, some ending up purchasing them.
