GuardianRanger
01-11-2005, 05:37 AM
When I first read the Lord of the Rings, it had to be the very early 80s. I was 11 or 12 at the time, and I really only remember that the three books were blue, green and red. The Hobbit was yellow. (A little research shows these to be Ballantine Third Issue - Special Silver Jubilee Edition.) Anyway, I remember the cover art; and learning that it was not Tolkien's art. Yet, I distinctly remember the artwork that appeared throughout the books. And I always wondered what Tolkien "thought" Middle Earth, and its occupants, looked like. Fast-forward to about a year ago when I received The Annotated Hobbit for Christmas. I started reading it, and absolutely loved the artwork and pictures interspersed throughout the book. What really struck me was that there were pictures/paintings/art work created by Tolkien. There were not a lot, but the notes to the book suggested J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator by Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull.
I received Artist and Illustrator for Christmas this year, and have just finished reading it. All I can say is: if you are fan of Tolkien's artwork, or are curious to see what he thought/imagined, get this book. (There is another book of Tolkien's art called Pictures by J.R.R Tolkien, which I have not seen.)
The book is set chronologically, but is divided into categories. And I'll say up front, the art I enjoy the most are the pen, watercolor, and black ink pieces. There is a lot of history interwoven with the artwork for each category. For example, the whole first chapter is devoted to Tolkien's art throughout his life, but not related to fantasy or the Middle Earth legendarium. Most of these pieces are works that show scenes of places he lived or visited; and they are presented chronologically. The second chapter gets into the beginnings of Middle Earth and portrays how Tolkien arrived at certain pieces, mostly fantasy related. Many of the pieces of work in this chapter deal with the Silmarillion, or, what would become the Silmarillion. What I found the most interesting in this chapter is that it appears Tolkien would create artwork that would later appear in the mythology; almost as if the artwork drove the text. Chapter three tells of the artwork he created for children. You can see in the chapter how Tolkien really loved telling stories to his children, and how he created some of those stories. Most of the artwork in this chapter comes from “The Father Christmas Letters” and “Roverandom;” though there are some other, miscellaneous, pieces.
Chapter four is solely on the Hobbit. It is the largest chapter, and, not coincidentally, has the most artwork. Personally, I like this chapter the best; probably because it contains the most pieces of art done in pencil, watercolor, and black ink. The chapter follows the book in the order of the story, so the art starts at the beginning of the Hobbit with the description of Bag End and the coming of Gandalf to Bilbo’s house. The chapter concludes with the creation of the various dust jackets for the hardcover book. One (of the many things) I found interesting is how Tolkien arrived at the finished product. For example, the book shows three or four sketches of Bag End, all the pictures in an unfinished state, and a little bit different. You really get a sense of how Tolkien came up with his final thoughts on a particular subject and how that view or subject evolved.
Chapter five displays and discusses the artwork of The Lord Of The Rings. There is noticeably less artwork and the chapter is much smaller than the preceding chapter. However, this is explained because Tolkien did not have as much time to work on his art. And, The Lord Of The Rings is not a children’s story, as the Hobbit is; nor would it require images to accompany it. However, there are numerous sketches and unfinished pieces that Tolkien used to help set up his story and flesh out certain scenes. One particular sketch I enjoyed is a sketch of Farmer Cotton’s house that Tolkien used to tell of a skirmish in the Shire when the Hobbits returned. The sketch of the house was used to set the scene and be used as a reference for Tolkien to move characters. Chapter six is titled Patterns and Devices, and is just that. There are a lot of Tolkien’s doodles, produced later in life; and a bunch of devices of the different elves and elf familys. Finally, there is an appendix on Tolkien’s calligraphy.
I found this book excellent. I learned a lot, not just about the art; but about the creation of the legendarium of Middle Earth. By reading this I was able to momentarily glimpse into Tolkien’s mind, and see how it worked, how he created, and the vastness with which he could create Middle Earth. I wholeheartedly recommend the book.
I received Artist and Illustrator for Christmas this year, and have just finished reading it. All I can say is: if you are fan of Tolkien's artwork, or are curious to see what he thought/imagined, get this book. (There is another book of Tolkien's art called Pictures by J.R.R Tolkien, which I have not seen.)
The book is set chronologically, but is divided into categories. And I'll say up front, the art I enjoy the most are the pen, watercolor, and black ink pieces. There is a lot of history interwoven with the artwork for each category. For example, the whole first chapter is devoted to Tolkien's art throughout his life, but not related to fantasy or the Middle Earth legendarium. Most of these pieces are works that show scenes of places he lived or visited; and they are presented chronologically. The second chapter gets into the beginnings of Middle Earth and portrays how Tolkien arrived at certain pieces, mostly fantasy related. Many of the pieces of work in this chapter deal with the Silmarillion, or, what would become the Silmarillion. What I found the most interesting in this chapter is that it appears Tolkien would create artwork that would later appear in the mythology; almost as if the artwork drove the text. Chapter three tells of the artwork he created for children. You can see in the chapter how Tolkien really loved telling stories to his children, and how he created some of those stories. Most of the artwork in this chapter comes from “The Father Christmas Letters” and “Roverandom;” though there are some other, miscellaneous, pieces.
Chapter four is solely on the Hobbit. It is the largest chapter, and, not coincidentally, has the most artwork. Personally, I like this chapter the best; probably because it contains the most pieces of art done in pencil, watercolor, and black ink. The chapter follows the book in the order of the story, so the art starts at the beginning of the Hobbit with the description of Bag End and the coming of Gandalf to Bilbo’s house. The chapter concludes with the creation of the various dust jackets for the hardcover book. One (of the many things) I found interesting is how Tolkien arrived at the finished product. For example, the book shows three or four sketches of Bag End, all the pictures in an unfinished state, and a little bit different. You really get a sense of how Tolkien came up with his final thoughts on a particular subject and how that view or subject evolved.
Chapter five displays and discusses the artwork of The Lord Of The Rings. There is noticeably less artwork and the chapter is much smaller than the preceding chapter. However, this is explained because Tolkien did not have as much time to work on his art. And, The Lord Of The Rings is not a children’s story, as the Hobbit is; nor would it require images to accompany it. However, there are numerous sketches and unfinished pieces that Tolkien used to help set up his story and flesh out certain scenes. One particular sketch I enjoyed is a sketch of Farmer Cotton’s house that Tolkien used to tell of a skirmish in the Shire when the Hobbits returned. The sketch of the house was used to set the scene and be used as a reference for Tolkien to move characters. Chapter six is titled Patterns and Devices, and is just that. There are a lot of Tolkien’s doodles, produced later in life; and a bunch of devices of the different elves and elf familys. Finally, there is an appendix on Tolkien’s calligraphy.
I found this book excellent. I learned a lot, not just about the art; but about the creation of the legendarium of Middle Earth. By reading this I was able to momentarily glimpse into Tolkien’s mind, and see how it worked, how he created, and the vastness with which he could create Middle Earth. I wholeheartedly recommend the book.