Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
smithsonianmag.com
Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
1–10 of 64 posts
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#2Is there some thing new somewhere? Each of the paintings in the article I've seen before in various copies of the books themselves.
Ah it's on the Painting section of the Tolkien Estate: https://www.tolkienestate.com/painting/
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#3[deleted]
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#4I love Tolkien's depiction of Smaug. He looks... cartoony, like Singe from Dragon's Lair. Everything is evocative of pure imagination. I guess when you fought in WWI and have seen how bleak the real world is, an imaginary world of whimsy and bright colors is a more cheerful place for your mind to inhabit from time to time.
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#5[deleted]
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#6Is there some thing new somewhere? Each of the paintings in the article I've seen before in various copies of the books themselves. Ah it's on the Painting section of the Tolkien Estate: https://www.tolkienestate.com/painting/
Follow the link to the website and you'll see several that, at least, I hadn't seen before.
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#7Maybe interesting anecdote: the only other illustrations that supposedly met with Tolkien's approval were done by the now Danish queen Margrethe.
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#8These were in the 50th anniversary hardcover edition of The Hobbit.
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#9I love Tolkien's depiction of Smaug. He looks... cartoony, like Singe from Dragon's Lair . Everything is evocative of pure imagination. I guess when you fought in WWI and have seen how bleak the real world is, an imaginary world of whimsy and bright colors is a more cheerful place for your mind to inhabit from time to time.
Despite the Peter Jackson movies, The Hobbit was actually written as a childrens' story rather than a grand epic.
I'd wager a lot that the cartoonish nature of his pictures was an accurate reflection of how he saw that story.
If you haven't seen the 1977 animated Hobbit film (often called Rankin-Bass after it's creators), you're doing yourself a disservice.
Re: Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien
#10Is there some thing new somewhere? Each of the paintings in the article I've seen before in various copies of the books themselves. Ah it's on the Painting section of the Tolkien Estate: https://www.tolkienestate.com/painting/
Yea the ones in the articles have been used as cover art for certain editions of his books.
The images on the website are rarely published.