Ul de Rico facts for kids

Count Ul de Rico (born Ulderico Conte Gropplero di Troppenburg, 1944-2023) was an artist and author from Italy. He was famous for his illustrated children's books, especially The Rainbow Goblins (1978) and its follow-up, The White Goblin (1996). Ul de Rico also played a big part in creating the look of the children's fantasy movie The NeverEnding Story (1984). This film was based on the popular book by Michael Ende.

Ul de Rico's Life and Work

Ul de Rico was born in 1944 in Udine, Italy. He spent many years in Munich, Germany, where he studied at the Munich Academy. He learned painting from Professor Franz Nagel. He also earned a special degree in stage and costume design from Professor Rudolf Heinrich. Later in his life, he lived in France.

The Rainbow Goblins Story

The Rainbow Goblins was first published in Germany in 1977. It was translated into English that same year. The story is about seven goblins, each a different color of the rainbow. These goblins travel around, trying to catch rainbows and steal their beautiful colors. People loved the book for its amazing oil paintings on oak wood, which made the goblin world come alive. The simple story also taught children about colors and how important it is to respect nature's beauty.

Other Creative Projects

In 1980, Ul de Rico wrote and illustrated The Ring of the Nibelung: Wagner's epic drama. This book was his own version of a very long opera series called Der Ring des Nibelungen, created by Richard Wagner. Ul de Rico made the story shorter and simpler. He also used three characters called the Norns to tell the story, which was a creative change from the original opera. His paintings for this book were special: each one had the three Norns around the edge, and the painting was split into a top and bottom part. Both parts showed different scenes but were connected by the story's theme.

Ul de Rico also worked on the movie Flash Gordon in 1980. He was the artist who created the look of the skies and clouds in the film.

In 1982, he illustrated a short book by Richard Adams called The Legend of Te Tuna. This story was based on characters from Polynesian mythology. Ul de Rico's paintings really helped bring Adams' poetic words to life.

His artwork for The NeverEnding Story film (1984) was also very colorful and imaginative. The movie's creators used many of his ideas from the book to plan their scenes and characters.

The White Goblin Sequel

In 1996, Ul de Rico painted a follow-up to his first goblin story, called The White Goblin. The paintings in this book were similar to his earlier work, but many had almost no color. This made them look very different from the bright, colorful pictures in the first book. This was done on purpose because the White Goblin's story was about something more serious: habitat destruction and using nature's resources for selfish reasons. This book's lessons and story were more complex, making it a good read for slightly older children.

Ul de Rico also designed covers for music albums. In 1981 and 1997, a Japanese musician named Masayoshi Takanaka released Jazz/Rock albums named The Rainbow Goblins and The White Goblin. These albums were inspired by Ul de Rico's books. In 2017, the band Primus released a concept album called The Desaturating Seven, which was also based on the story and art of The Rainbow Goblins.

Art Style

Ul de Rico's paintings often had a slightly dreamlike quality. This style helped readers get lost in his colorful, imaginary worlds. At the same time, his art reminded people of the beautiful natural world that inspired him.

Selected Works

• The Rainbow Goblins (1978)
• The Ring of the Nibelung (illustrations and text from Wagner's work) (1980)
• The Legend of Te Tuna (illustrations), by Richard Adams (author) (1982)
• Die Unendliche Geschichte (film) (character design) (1984)
• The White Goblin (1996)