Tolkien, the Artist

[Estelyn Telcontar]

When we speak of "Tolkien's works", we almost invariably mean his books. They are pure genius, of course, but he was also gifted in another creative field - painting and drawing! He illustrated many of his writings, drew detailed maps of Middle-earth, devised calligraphic scripts for his invented languages, and created heraldic devices for a number of his characters. I'm just now discovering how rich his artistic work is; the book J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, published by Houghton Mifflin, is an excellent source for this neglected subject. Since we have not yet had a thread devoted exclusively to JRRT's artwork, I'd like to discuss it here.

Where to start? Some of us are familiar with his paintings from our books - my boxed paperback edition (1973) of Hobbit and LotR has one on each of the four book covers plus some of his heraldic devices on the red box. Some of his drawings are integrated into the story - like the door of Moria and the maps. There may be online sources that show more of his art; we can share those if possible without violating copyright laws. I'd like to proceed as the book does, beginning with his early works of art and sharing some of the information with those who do not have access to this great book.

He learned to paint and draw from his mother, Mabel Tolkien, who is said to have been a capable artist. His love of nature went hand in hand with art, and most of his paintings are of landscapes, real or imagined. Since I am particularly interested in the artwork of the Arts and Crafts movement (Art Nouveau), I noticed the similarity of his style, one that works beautifully for the Elves especially, since it combines elegance and natural subjects. (The movie's design team did an excellent job of using this style for Rivendell and Lothlórien!)

It only occurred to me last year, when I was in Birmingham's museum to see the Pre-Raphaelite paintings, which are closely linked to the Arts and Crafts movement, that this was the city of Tolkien's youth, and the time which must have influenced him strongly. Hammond and Scull agree with my opinion (Isn't it nice when you find out that your thoughts are affirmed by the experts?! ;) ) and give examples for the Arts and Crafts influence in both his artwork and his writings. It seems clear, too, that he agreed with the underlying philosophy of Morris and his followers, which looked back to a much earlier time: that the 'lesser' arts of handicraft embodied truth and beauty no less than the 'fine' arts of painting and sculpture. One looks for the latter almost in vain in Tolkien's writings (Leaf by Niggle excepted), but finds a wealth of references to crafts. (P. 10) Art nouveau was an important ingredient in his Cauldron, though "his art cannot be neatly classified. He tried on different styles, but most did not suit him and appear in his work only once or twice." (P. 11) His early drawings and paintings are of houses and landscapes in England; this period goes up to 1914, after which his art depicts his fantasy world(s) and illustrates his own stories.

Who has the book and is interested in comparing impressions of Tolkien's early artwork? When we move on, I'm sure more of you will encounter familiar pictures and be able to discuss them with us.

[Aiwendil]

Great idea for a thread, Estelyn! I got this book for Christmas last year and thoroughly enjoyed it - far more than I expected.

Art nouveau was an important ingredient in his Cauldron, though "his art cannot be neatly classified. He tried on different styles, but most did not suit him and appear in his work only once or twice." (P. 11)

I find Tolkien's stylistic variety interesting. He seems to me not to have shown the same interest in the antique in his visual artwork as in his writing - I found many of the images surprisingly modern.

Among his earlier (chapter 1) works, some strike me as rather impressionistic - for instance, no. 17 ("Foxglove Year") and no. 18 ("The Cottage, Barnt Green"). It's interesting to compare these with no. 29, "Summer in Kerry", another landscape that could be described as impressionistic, but one from much later. The earlier ones are far more complex and detailed; the later one reduces the palette to little more than a single hue and takes away almost all detail. If I may dare to make a comparison, "Summer in Kerry" rather reminds me of Monet's "Impression Sunrise".

[Encaitare]

The Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien. (http://www.diar.ru/tolkien/texts/eng/pbjrrt/contents.html)

You may get a pop-up when you click asking you for a password (I do, for some reason, anyway). It is, quite appropriately, tolkien.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Encaitare,

Are you sure about that password? I tried Tolkien and it kept heaving me out....

Child

EDIT: P. S. My poor, tired brain finally got it. :rolleyes: The password and user name are the same...

************************

Great topic, Esty! I have that book, and it is one of my favorites. A number of the old calendars and posters also have drawings by Tolkien, if anyone collects them.

[Lalwendë]

I think it is clear that Tolkien was not a professional visual artist as his work does cover so many styles and forms, but this is in no way a criticism, as he was certainly a highly accomplished artist, much more accomplished than most of us could ever hope to be (speaking for myself ;) ). I'm often deeply impressed by the level of detail he managed to get into his illustrations and these certainly have a distinguished style - it is possible to identify his work. Yet, like a professional, he did utilise different styles according to the purpose of the work. The illustrations for his Father Christmas Letters are very distinct from those he created for The Hobbit, for example.

I often think just how modern his illustrations are, as Aiwendil has already mentioned. His illustrations make great use of geometric forms, cross-hatching and bold shapes. The shapes used in the trees in the picture Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves (http://www.diar.ru/tolkien/texts/eng/pbjrrt/14.html) (if the link works ;) ) is remarkably similar to the bold style used by Clarice Cliff (http://www.claricecliff.com/picture_gallery/gallery2/index_js.htm). I think the use of bold shapes was quite common during this period, and I like to think that Tolkien did get some influence from professional artists (and artisans).

It is also possible to see a slight influence of Japanese art in his work, whether intentioned or not I could not say, but many of his mountains remind me of Japanese artwork of Mount Fuji.

Great website, Encaitare! :)

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Thanks for the good replies so far! I'm glad to see that others are interested in this topic and have the same book. That, along with the link Encataire gives, provides us with lots of material for discussion.

Yes, Aiwendil, I too think that the impressionistic style is one that Tolkien obviously liked and found suitable for what he wanted to express. The paintings you mention are watercolour, which tends to look impressionistic anyway.

I remember seeing a website with pictures of Middle-earth calendars, Child; I'll have to find my old bookmark and post the link here. I don't know how many have his own pictures though - quite a few are Hildebrand, Howe, Lee, etc.

Lalwendë, "Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raftelves" is the painting that is on the cover of my Hobbit book! I really like the stylized trees and landscape there and find the general impression is very close to Art Nouveau. I can see the similarity to some of the Clarice Cliff artwork, as well - thanks for the link! I hadn't thought of the possible Japanese influence, but there are definite similarities!

[Bêthberry]

Wonderful idea for a discussion, Esty! I remember years ago pouring over Tolkien's paintings and drawings looking for something I could use as an avatar for my RPG character. I didn't find an avatar (back then I lacked the expertise to be able to photoshop something), but I did pass several enjoyable hours.

I don't have the Harmmound and Scull book, so I will be dependant upon you to quote from it. Perhaps this question is a bit premature, as you want to move through the book's ideas slowly, but I was wondering if any of the famous illustrators of Tolkien's written work have acknowledged any inspiration from Tolkien's paintings? Did his own efforts to illustrate his work inspire the other artists or was it simply his prose which stimulated their creative work?

[davem]

Of course one theme which runs right through Tolkien’s art is nature. Not included in the Artist & Illustrator volume is a page from a sketchbook of 1896, included in the Bodlean Library 1992 Tolkien Exhibition catalogue. Tolkien would have been 5 or 6 at the time. The page shows ‘Sea Weeds & Starfish’ & were illustrated from life while on a seaside holiday. I supppose this was the family’s first holiday, & it seems possible that his love of the sea may have arisen at this time. The illustration of seaweed is very similar in shape to the Tree of Amalion on p86 of A&I. do wonder if the Sea became such a strong theme in his work - as strong as the rural English countryside - at the same time & perhaps for the same reason - that both were first experienced through the eyes of a child.

I seem to recall reading that Tolkien said he could never study myth & fairystory as subjects in themselves, as he would always end up taking the ideas & symbols up into his own Legendarium. It seems that he did the same with the natural world. The undersea world depicted in the sketchbook certainly reappeared later in ‘mythological’ form in the paintings he did for Roverrandom, & also in his final (?) painting The Hills of Morning’, & the connections between the illustration of Tumble Hill (p30) & various later paintings of Lothlorien in Spring (p162) & The Elvenking’s Gate (p128), among others is clear.

I have to say, though, that the ‘Visions, Myths & Legends’ section is perhaps the most interesting to me. ‘End of the World’ (p 40) is a variant of the tarot image The Fool, showing a figure blithely stepping off a cliff. I don’t know if Tolkien had seen a Tarot pack before drawing this - if not the image is all the more remarkable, & seems to confirm that tarot images are archetypal images arising from the unconscious. In fact, many of the illustrations in this section have a disturbing quality. One thing that did strike me (even before reading the text in which the authors point it out) was the way the doorway in ‘Before’ was the same shape as the one in the Elvenking’s Gate & The Back Door (p138). The similarity between the hand emerging from behind the curtain in ‘Wickedness’ & that in ‘Maddo’ is also pointed out by Hammond & Scull. Another ‘tarot’ connection can be seen in Eeriness (p43), which is reminiscent of The Hermit. ‘Before’, ‘Afterwards’ & ‘Wickedness’ are all ‘UnderWorld’ images, & seem to reflect a deep psychological & spiritual experience, an UnderWorld Journey.

[Lalwendë]

I'd like to proceed as the book does, beginning with his early works of art and sharing some of the information with those who do not have access to this great book.

Now that I can see the book, I can refer to some of those early works, just as you mentioned! His sketches of Whitby fascinated me as I did not know he had been there, and like everyone else who visits the town, he seems to have found three things interesting: the bridge and harbour, the abbey and the 199 steps and the old town (his picture of this is sadly not in this book).

Out of interest, his sketch of the swing bridge reflects a scene that can still be seen to this day; only the small cluster of buildings immediately to the right of the bridge have since been demolished. Here (http://www.sutcliffegallery.com.au/images/sub71.jpg) is the same scene as photographed by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe in the late 1800's, before the new bridge, and here (http://www.greensubmarine.co.uk/pics/whitby2.jpg) it is today. I think he'd be pleased to know that the orcs hadn't spoiled the place too much. And it does have a Middle Earth Tavern. :)

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I was wondering if any of the famous illustrators of Tolkien's written work have acknowledged any inspiration from Tolkien's paintings? Did his own efforts to illustrate his work inspire the other artists or was it simply his prose which stimulated their creative work?
I haven't finished the book yet, so I don't know if references will come that answer this question, Bb; I will try to keep it in mind as I continue.

davem mentioned the drawing 'Tumble Hill'; I was struck by its similarity to the painting of Fangorn (Taur-na-Fúin, #54 ) that adorns my copy of TTT. On both, we see a part of a wood that consists almost entirely of tree trunks, allowing us to look through and beyond them, though the background is more or less insignificant to the picture. The fact that he pictures very tall trees tells us that they were obviously old enough to have grown high. I wonder of there was more to his concentration on the trunks than a sense of history. I'm reminded of the last photo taken of JRRT, next to the Pinus Nigra in the Botanical Gardens in Oxford - which, incidentally, I saw and had my picture taken with last summer. On that photo we see only the trunk of the tree as well.

A collage of little drawings in this first chapter of the book fascinates me - High Life at Gipsy Green (#23). It is atypical for him, as it shows persons, mostly his wife Edith - and that in rather intimate situations such as washing! :eek: Nothing spectacular, of course, and shown only as a rear view, but still, I'm sure those were not meant for public viewing! I like the one where she is sitting at the piano. It's interesting that he wrote comments and notes on the page - as if his love for words invades his visual art.

I too find that the second chapter, 'Visions, Myths, and Legends', is more interesting than the real life based drawings in the first chapter. If there are no further posts on this one, let's continue with the next!

[Aiwendil]

I find many of the images from the "Visions, Myths, and Legends" chapter quite fascinating. There are, on the one hand, pictures of the sort you'd expect: scenes and places associated with Tolkien's mythology. But I was surprised by some of the pictures that bear no apparent relation to his literary work. I would certainly love to have a copy of The Book of Ishness.

I wonder whether anyone has any thoughts on the pair "Before" and "Afterwards". Hammond and Scull speculate that in moving from the first image to the second we have gone through a door to find a figure on a torchlit path; they suggest that this represents "the entrance to Death" and "the soul travelling on its way". This seems a reasonable interpretation, but there is little in either picture to suggest it particularly. If it were not for the titles, the pictures would have no obvious connection aside from a similarity in style - and yet the titles suggest not only a connection but a specific program. In any case, I think that "Before", as simple as it is, is one of the most evocative pictures Tolkien drew.

"Undertenishness" and "Grownupishness" appear to form another pair. Both surprised me when I first saw them: "Undertenishness" for its trick of being both a forest and a butterfly and "Grownupishness" for its cartoonish style.

Tolkien makes interesting use of watercolours in some of the other images from this chapter. In "Water, Wind, & Sand", "Tanaqui", and "The Shores of Faery" he presents highly stylized images from his mythology. The flat, sectional approach he uses is rather effective, I think. "Water, Wind, & Sand" in particular evokes the same feeling as the poem with which it is associated.

In some ways, I can't help but think, these early pictures are similar to his early writing (mainly the Book of Lost Tales); they are at once more primitive, more varied, and more experimental than his later work.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

In some ways, I can't help but think, these early pictures are similar to his early writing (mainly the Book of Lost Tales); they are at once more primitive, more varied, and more experimental than his later work. That's an interesting statement, Aiwendil - I remember thinking that Tolkien's writing was in some ways more powerful in The Book of Lost Tales than in his later works. I do agree that he was more experimental in these early artworks, though I do not like all the styles he tried out - and neither did he, apparently!

"Before" and "Afterwards" do not feel connected to me, nor do they appeal to me particularly. I wish "Beyond" (#39) were printed in color, as I like the abstract use of Tolkien's typical motives - mountains, trees, and a road, leading from the foreground to the background. I prefer "Tanaqui" to "Water, Wind & Sand" and find it interesting to see the development of the series of pictures on that theme. I find "The Shores of Faery" (#44) very appealing, framed as it is by the stylized trees - very much Art Nouveau. I like the landscape on "Glorund Sets Forth to Seek Túrin" (#47), but for some reason the dragon spoils it for me.

"Halls of Manwë" (#52), which is also the title picture of the book, is definitely my favorite in this chapter; though I find the swan ship not quite convincing, the mountains are wonderfully painted. I feel similarly about "Taur-na-Fúin/Fangorn Forest" (#54) - I love JRRT's forest pictures, but much prefer the textures of the trees to the tiny Elves.

Probably my least favourite picture in this chapter is the last one, "The Tree of Amalion" (#62) - it seems too flat, too artificial to me.

I enjoy reading the explanations and interpretations of the pictures by Hammond and Scull; they're helpful and informative. However, I respond to the drawings and paintings emotionally (or not), so what I have to say about them is very much my personal impression.

[littlemanpoet]

I was enjoying the new avatar of bilbo_baggins, which is the painting by JRRT of the entrance to Bag End, looking from inside, out. It's a very appealing and inviting piece of art; what struck me about it was first, the symmetry, and second, a hint of yin/yang in the line of the Hill as seen to the left outside the door. Is there something to be made of that? Or am I just bringing something in from the primary world that doesn't belong? ;)

[bilbo_baggins]

I thought it would be prudent to show off the avatar you're speaking of... :)

I can't really guess if he wanted in yin/yang sort of thing in it or not.

I get as many Tolkien calendars as possible, and the one I have currently has the Fangorn Forest sketch for May. I highly enjoy all of Tolkien's artworks. Just seeing all the people and places come to life is a gift from the author nothing can replace.

bilbo

[littlemanpoet]

I realize that most of Tolkien's art does not have this characteristic, but the peculair feature of the Shire's round doors and windows, stands out to me because of the above mentioned avatar.

This particular painting by Tolkien, of the front door of Bag End, strikes me as a mandala. Maybe it's not as complex as what a Tibetan monk (http://www.artnetwork.com/Mandala/) might create, but the resemblance is there. Anybody know anything about mandalas? I know Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung had their fingers stirring in this pot, and I've read plenty of Jungian interpretations of LotR. Am I just reading it into this painting, or is there something there?

[davem]

Tolkien Mandalas?

There are these 'heraldic devices' for various houses & individuals (in the 'Drawings by Tolkien' section (bottom of page):http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/tolkien/gallery.html

[Thorgis]

Well ... am I to join in this long list of praise?
Yes, I think Tolkien knew how to handle his pencils and he made quite some nice drawings.
What I do not agree with is the high amount of detail that was mentioned. He drew well enogh to give a quick impression of what he wanted to show. If you really look closely, though, his illustrations sometimes contradict his writings (example: Laketown) and are confusing rather than helpfull for any attempt to make a serious "realistic" approach.
I doubt that we should take the Prof. more serious than he would have, himself. He was not an artist, not a geologist, not an architect nor archeologist; he was a linguist who made some exzessive doodles that some people started to like.

*waiting to get flamed ......*

[littlemanpoet]

This tree (http://www.arwen-undomiel.com/tolkien/images/Tree_drawing.jpg) looks positively Hindu! It defies gravity. What's that in the bottom right, a mountain? Does anyone know what this picture is of? I'd include it here, but I'm sure it would be a memory/space hog.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

LMP, that's the 'Tree of Amalion' - I mentioned it in post #12 as my least favorite picture in that chapter. According to Hammond and Scull's comments, it represents the 'Tree of Tales' which Tolkien refers to in Of Fairy-Stories and is related to the Tree in Leaf by Niggle. Tolkien's own comments: ...elaborated and coloured and more suitable for embroidery than printing; and the tree bears besides various shapes of leaves many flowers samll and large signifying poems and major legends. He said he drew it "regularly, at those times when I feel driven to pattern-designing." It is dated August 1928.

Yes, those are mountains are the bottom right.

[THE Ka]

Well ... am I to join in this long list of praise?
Yes, I think Tolkien knew how to handle his pencils and he made quite some nice drawings.
What I do not agree with is the high amount of detail that was mentioned. He drew well enogh to give a quick impression of what he wanted to show. If you really look closely, though, his illustrations sometimes contradict his writings (example: Laketown) and are confusing rather than helpfull for any attempt to make a serious "realistic" approach.
I doubt that we should take the Prof. more serious than he would have, himself. He was not an artist, not a geologist, not an architect nor archeologist; he was a linguist who made some exzessive doodles that some people started to like.

*waiting to get flamed ......*


Sometimes your mind can run away with the paint...

As for pencils, they are the best thing next to smoked fish. Wonderfully adaptible and can convey any shade and depth. Something that is wonderful in illustrating Tolkien's world, something he proably would agree with as well. Plus they come in a variety of colours now!

~ Ka

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Let's continue discussing Tolkien's artwork with "Art for Children", Chapter 3 of the book. I just bought his "Letters to Father Christmas" so that I can see all of the illustrations, inclucing those not put into this book. Since Chapter 3 begins with those as well, let's start there before moving on to his other children's books.

The tradition of writing Father Christmas letters to his children began in 1920; his 3-year old son John received the first one. We can see how JRRT used calligraphy, imitating an "old" shaky handwriting. Besides the rather traditional depiction of Father Christmas himself, the second part of the picture shows his house, a very fanciful structure, a little like an iglu, with spires that are typical of his style.

The letters continued until 1943, when Priscilla was 14. I hope those of you who have one or the other book will post your impressions; I shall come back with more later on as well.

[littlemanpoet]

I wish I could offer something more worthwhile here, but I possess neither book. However, I've read the Father Christmas book twice (most recently within the last couple years) with great delight.

The pictures are all very colorful and creative. Not cartoonish, but they seem to approach an animated feature in style. I can imagine enjoying an animated feature in this style, although it might suffer in close-ups, which Tolkien seems to avoid, to my recollection.

Wouldn't it be great if some Tolkien loving artists decided to use his style to tell his stories in an animated feature? It probably won't happen in our lifetime, if ever, but it's fun to imagine.

[Bêthberry]

For those who do not have this wonderful book of illustrations or the Father Christmas letters, here are several examples of Tolkien's artwork for his children's letters. I hope these will help stimulate discussion of Tolkien's art. The middle picture represents the stamps which Tolkien drew for some of the envelopes. The last picture represents the belovedly clumsy Polar Bear who features in several drawings.

I know that the usual Barrow Downs rules frown upon the posting of pictures which draw bandwidth and detract from writing, but I would think that in this case, the pictures should be acceptable, especially since the "Crazy Captions" thread appears to be acceptable. If the Admins decide otherwise, of course they will delete this post.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/MimsyBorogroves/Tolkien_FatherChristmas3.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/MimsyBorogroves/Tolkien-FatherChristmas-stamps.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/MimsyBorogroves/Tolkien-FatherChristmas-polar-bear.jpg

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Thank you, Bêthberry, for posting these pictures! Indeed, on a thread that discusses Tolkien's art, such images are great to give those who don't have the books the possibility of discussing the art with us. It's nice to see some of the elaborate stamps that he drew to go with the letters - each one is different, and each is thematically related to the drawing of that year.

Yes, LMP, your idea of animation strikes me as being very apt - these drawings do have a comic book look to them, at least in part.

More later - another post (CbC) has priority right now...

[Lalwendë]

I have to say, I like the stamp from the North Pole, upper left in the second picture. Why? Because it actually seems to have a pole on it, and as a child I always imagined that the North Pole was exactly that, a big pole sticking out of the ice. :)

[piosenniel]

Alongside the Father Christmas Letters, Mr. Bliss is one of my favorite children’s books. It’s all written in Tolkien’s crabbed hand and filled with lovely colored pencil drawings.

~*~

Mr. Bliss (he of the many impossibly tall hats) buys a car and goes traveling in it:

In the yellow car with red wheels (http://www.tolkiengesellschaft.de/allesvontolkien/anderebuecher/jpg/mrbliss.jpg)

~*~

The Girabbit (http://www.talkingabouttolkien.com/jpg/bliss1.jpg)

~*~

The 3 bears (http://www.talkingabouttolkien.com/jpg/bliss2.jpg)

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Thanks for posting those links, pio!! I've been looking for the Mr. Bliss book, hoping that it too, like some of the others, would be reprinted in the wake of increased interest. So far, alas, I've not been successful in finding it - does anyone have the book or information about it?

By the way, did anyone notice that the stamp on the lower right of those four has "2 kisses" written on it? The others have only the number, but I find it amusing that he didn't use a British coinage for the stamp.

[piosenniel]

I have the book. I found it on eBay.

It was originally published by Allen and Unwin in 1982; then, reissued in 1990 by HarperCollins.

However - you can get it through amazon.com (it's unavailable through them directly (out of print perhaps) - but, in their used titles section you can find copies to buy. (I've have good luck geting books this way.)

Here's (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/sim-explorer/explore-items/-/0395329361/0/101/1/none/purchase/ref%3Dpd%5Fsxp%5Fr0/002-5479076-5470456) a link. Just click on 'buy used' in the upper right of the screen.

~*~ Pio

[Bêthberry]

I found an article which might be interesting in terms of resurrecting this thread--a companion to Esty's bad Tolkien art thread!

While I'm not convinced by all of the points made in this article, it is still an intriguing approach, to suggest that Tolkien's imagination was fired by art and illustration as well as by literary texts. Since Tolkien was a talented amateur artist, such an idea at least offers grounds for considering the breadth of his imagination. And why miss an opportunity for considering his relationship with Art Nouveau?

Perhaps we might also have a key here to understanding why some illustrators of Tolkien find approval among the Barrow Downers and others don't. Do illustrators who stray too far from Art Nouveau style risk breaking that intangible thread of imaginary visual sense? (Hey, I might post this idea on the bad art thread.)

Tolkien and the New Art: Visual Sources for Lord of the Rings (http://touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=15-01-041-f)

[davem]

Perhaps we might also have a key here to understanding why some illustrators of Tolkien find approval among the Barrow Downers and others don't. Do illustrators who stray too far from Art Nouveau style risk breaking that intangible thread of imaginary visual sense? (Hey, I might post this idea on the bad art thread.)


Have to say my favourite illustrations of Tolkien's work are the ones by Pauline Baynes (especially the SoWM & Giles pictures) & S. Juchimov http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/juchimov.htm both of which have a very 'medieval' feel.

[Bêthberry]

Have to say my favourite illustrations of Tolkien's work are the ones by Pauline Baynes (especially the SoWM & Giles pictures) & S. Juchimov http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/juchimov.htm both of which have a very 'medieval' feel.

Funnily enough, styles like those of Baynes and Juchimov were very much was I was thinking of davem, despite their differences with Art Nouveau. The characteristic which is absent in them but present in many of the artists which are not admired here is what I would call a "muscular" quality. There's something ethereal in the illustrators we admire and that characteristic is lacking in those we don't. Ethereal and something else, too, something whimsical.

The very sort of thing missing in the artwork on the site of one long time ago Downs member, by name of Cimmerian (http://www.geocities.com/conan_strongarm_of_crom/index.html). He's got some orcs there amongst the fleshpots that might be qualified as Tolkien art. ;)

I think I'm definitely going to link this to Esty's other thread.

[Hilde Bracegirdle]

The characteristic which is absent in them but present in many of the artists which are not admired here is what I would call a "muscular" quality. There's something ethereal in the illustrators we admire and that characteristic is lacking in those we don't. Ethereal and something else, too, something whimsical.

In most of Tolkien's work, strength of body or even that of the mind, is not the emphasis. Rather the focus seems to be strength of character, a trait which is pictured by an more inward and subjective eye. So it would be natural that depictions should be flavored by an inner life and aesthetic not normal to mundane life. To me, the illustrations that do not try to pin the stories to real life, are the most satisfying.

Very interesting article Bethberry! Fun to see that it was written by a former curator of the Walters Art Gallery. I used to send quite a bit of time there.

[MatthewM]

Does anybody know of any pictures by JRRT showing his characters? (Besides Bilbo)

[MatthewM]

No?

I can't find any evidence that Tolkien ever sketched his characters...

[Galin]

Tolkien drew Beleg & Gwindor, Gandalf, Glaurung... for examples, and I guess you mean the characters outside of Smaug or the Trolls too.

These can be found in the Hammond & Scull book. Beleg and Gwindor made it onto some covers (very small figures on the paperback) for The Two Towers, interestingly enough, about which see details in H&S.

[Naz]

Since I am particularly interested in the artwork of the Arts and Crafts movement (Art Nouveau), I noticed the similarity of his style, one that works beautifully for the Elves especially, since it combines elegance and natural subjects. (The movie's design team did an excellent job of using this style for Rivendell and Lothlórien!)

Interestingly enough, in reading The Lord of the Rings Sketchbook, Alan Lee does mention something about using ideas from Art Nouveau in the styles used for the Elves, but especially in Rivendell, I think.

And I really like the Father Christmas illustrations. Especially the one with the polar bear (I forget his name...) falling down the stairs.

[MatthewM]

Have to say my favourite illustrations of Tolkien's work are the ones by Pauline Baynes (especially the SoWM & Giles pictures) & S. Juchimov http://www.elvish.org/gwaith/juchimov.htm both of which have a very 'medieval' feel.

Wow, I've never seen the ones by S. Juchimov- those are truly great. The only thing I find a bit odd is the depiction of halo's around the heads of the figures.