Do Balrogs Have Wings?

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Finduilas

Okay, then John Howe had no right to do that. I have great respect for John Howe, he is a great artist, but I kind of have to wonder where he got his image. I mean horns?

I suppose this is the specific conundrum about illustrators: do they have complete artistic freedom to interpret a text or are they bound literally and only to what the words specifically claim? That is, should an image inspire an imaginative sense of the text or is it only a visual xerox of the words?

My sense is that the illustrators of Tolkien who are the most highly regarded are those who aspire to be fully imaginative artists, interpreters and not merely reproductionists. Their work has touched a chord with readers' imaginations.