The Story Behind Guns N’ Roses’ 1991 Double-Album Pairing Use Your Illusion I and II

Released on the same day on September 17, 1991, both Use Your Illusion I and II albums’ covers are the work of Estonian-American artist Mark Kostabi, based on a famous painting by Raphael titled The School of Athens. While the 16th-century original – located in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican – features 50 people, the Guns N’ Roses cover focused on only two: a figure slumped over a column staring at a young man writing in his book. Color schemes differentiated between the two albums – Illusion I used yellow and red, while Illusion II opted for blue and purple.

The cover arts for Use Your Illusion I and II by Guns N’ Roses.

Part of School of Athens used for the artwork of Use Your Illusion albums by Guns N’ Roses.

The School of Athens by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino.

According to Alan Niven, who managed the band from 1986 until 1991, Axl Rose paid artist Mark Kostabi $75,000 for use of his artwork on the covers of the Use Your Illusion albums as well as merchandise, not knowing the images were public domain and evidently could have been used for free. Kostabi’s work was viewed as controversial in the art world at the time as it regularly featured graphic reinterpretations of other established artwork.

“The biggest giggle I got was Axl paying [Mark] Kostabi $75,000 for the cover paintings without asking me about the idea first,” Niven said. “He did not understand the images were in the public domain – we didn’t have to pay Kostabi anything for their use on merchandising.”

The albums took the name of the paintings used for the cover art, which the artist’s brother, Paul Kostabi, titled Use Your Illusion. Somewhat hidden in the liner notes is the phrase “F*** You St. Louis,” a reference to the band’s performance there in July of 1991. Axl Rose cut their set short and caused a riot, an act that the city charged him for. Slash is thanked in the liner notes for “the killer guitar melodies.”

Use Your Illusion I debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, selling 685,000 copies in its first week. The album has sold 5,502,000 units in the United States as of 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Use Your Illusion II was the slightly more popular of the two albums, selling a record 770,000 copies its first week and debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. As of 2010, Use Your Illusion II has sold 5,587,000 units in the United States. Both albums have since been certified 7× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

It was the first time that two albums by one band or artist had entered the US charts at the number one and two spots and Guns N’ Roses became the first to have the top two biggest selling albums on the chart since Jim Croce in 1974. The albums also opened as the top two albums on the charts in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.