Tolkien Illustrations

Here I have collected some of my favourite Tolkien illustrations, as well as one or two pieces that have no connection whatsoever with Tolkien except in my deranged brain. More things will be added as I find them.

You can see all images larger by clicking on them - but beware if you're on dial-up: some are very large.

Inger Edelfeldt | Other stuff

Inger Edelfeldt

These were the first visual renditions of Middle-Earth and its inhabitants that I ever saw, as they were on the covers of the very first edition of LoTR that I owned. Inger Edelfeldt's work has been central to the way I imagine Tolkien's world. Much as I love the films, I think it would be a sad thing if the images and portrayals therein became so dominant that nobody could remember, let alone imagine, any other version. Edelfeldt's images always help me remember how I imagined Middle-Earth long before I had ever heard of Peter Jackson.

	There is a marvellous sense of movement in this picture, of sinister, unsettling winds. When I was little (I first read LoTR aged about 8, and thinking back it seems I didn't put it down until ten years later) I wouldn't read Three is Company alone in bed at night, because the description of the sniffing, searching Black Rider on the road would seriously freak me out.
Merry and Pippin captured by the Orcs. This was on the cover of my first copy of The Two Towers. How I used to pore over it, trying to make out the Hobbits' faces!
	This was the cover of the third book, and the first image I ever saw of Frodo. I love the luminosity of this picture - it really communicates the solemnity of the occasion, but there is also a spring-like sense of rebirth in the green grass and the pale, fresh colours.
Gollum captured by Gandalf and the elves. This Gandalf, with his flying cloak and pointy hat looks remarkably similar to Alan Lee's famous Gandalf striding across the hill.
	Edelfeldt's Legolas has dark hair, for some reason. I love the carefully painted lichens on the rock in the foreground, and Legolas's arm guard - a nice detail.

Other Stuff

Call me crazy, but isn't the writhing young Eros in this 1605 painting by Bartolomeo Manfredi just a spitting image of Frodo? Except for the feet, of course. And the wings. (Click to see detail enlarged)

Book rec : This painting, and many other delicious and interesting images, can be found in Germaine Greer's fascinating book The Boy, a must-read for all slash fans.

If you're interested in exploring the work of other Tolkien illustrators, Rozolo, a visitor-driven art archive hosted by theonering.net, is a good place to start.

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