Tolkien portraits

[Mithalwen]

I went up to London the other week forgetting how much a difference a sea breeze makes and surfacing in Trafalgar Square to a heat that took the air from my lungs (yes it is possible in England though not a frequent occurence) air conditioned art galleries seemed like the most attractive option. As a result I went to the National Portrait Gallery for the first time in many years and certainly since it went interactive, and was inclined to linger.

The last time I went I had picked up a postcard of the Betty Swanwick cartoon of Tolkien and one of my motivations for going was to get more (sadly they were not on sale this time) but I did discover a little mezzanine with terminals where you could view the entire collection and found that there were three other Tolkien portraits (as well as a silhouette of a K Tolkien from the '20s who surely must have been a cousin). I really found them quite fascinating and thought others might be interested.

I give the link to them here, unfortunately you don't get the zoom facility available onsite with which I was able to examine the book titles and the list of tasks and deadlines (weeks past if the date of the picture is of when taken rather than published).

The earlier Chandler portraits are what you might expect - one an unremarkable formal b&w study that you might find on any dustjacket the other less formal , in what might be regarded as his natural habitat a room full of books but otherwise fairly spartan. He is more dapper than the sterotypical academic but of course he is of an older age and knew he was to have his picture taken. He looks more genial than might be expected from reading the contemporary letters which express resentment at the intrusion, and as if he is just about to expound on an interesting point.

The final portrait by Lord Snowdon is quite haunting. Stark, almost bleak. A huge contrast to both the earlier portraits - and to the famous last picture taken shortly after, next to the Pinus Nigra (on tolkienwiki).

Maybe it is the skill of the illustrious photograper that reaches deeper than the pose for a snapshot taken by friend or family - or maybe for them Tolkien could maintain the social smile, impossible in a longer shoot.

Snowdon chose an uncomfortable setting for an old man (however much he might love trees), he seems out of place even while blending into the environment. I find it fascinating and almost upsetting. There is such sadness in it - maybe it is the knowledge that the intervening decade included widowhood, failure to complete the work he hoped to at the start of his retirement and perhaps the realisation that failing health would deny him the extreme longevity of his kin.

I am no artist and though I am a good photographer of landscapes and architecture I am rubbish at people so this is very much a layman's perception. I would be interested to know what others think .

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Thank you very much for that link, Mithalwen! I had never heard of, much less seen the Snowdon portrait, and it does have something disturbing about it. I think the angle, taken upwards, has something to do with that - he looks like he is desperately holding on to keep from falling. That could well be metaphoric for his emotions at that time of his life. I am reminded of the feeling he describes in Smith of Wootton Major, the loss of the key to Faërie, written only a few years earlier.

The other impression I get from the portrait is a Treebeard-y feeling, only hopeless and desolate. A very moving photograph indeed!

[Mithalwen]

Yes, those are not friendly trees. Those roots have a hint of old man willow for all that it is a conifer. Also although it is a portrait the sitter is a very small part of the shot.

I seem to remember that this picture was to mark his 80th birthday whereas the others were to illustrate an article - I think in the Daily Telegraph.

[Pitchwife]

The Snowdon portrait was the first picture of Tolkien I ever saw (in a promotion leaflet from the German publishers of the Silmarillion, way back in the late 70s, which also contained, as a teaser, the first chapter of the Sil I ever read - Of the Darkening of Valinor, IIRC). At the time, he seemed to belong with those trees - to my younger eyes, he looked as old as the earth, as weird, ancient and otherworldly as the world of his tales. I didn't notice the look of old age and loss, but now you mention it, it's obvious.
(By the way, the trees strongly remind me of those on Tolkien's own painting of Taur-nu-Fuin/Mirkwood.)

[Mithalwen]

Thank you Pitchwife - that is interesting that it was used for that purpose ... certainly more intriguing than the classic author photograph.

I agree about Mirkwood... though there is some light it just serves to make the darkness..darker - and there is something a bit fey about it...and the way he seems almost to emerge from the roots.

On a side note, some people have been kind enough to tell me privately they like this but feel they have nothing to add. I had hoped that by putting it on N&N that it might encourage posting since I thought it was something that could be responded to by anyone who looked regardless of whether they were completely au fait with every detail of Tolkien's life and work. So I hope we might get a few more responses even if they are just an impression.

[Lalaith]

It seems to me to be of a man who has grown more tree-ish.