Tolkien, the Artist

[Lalwendë]

I think it is clear that Tolkien was not a professional visual artist as his work does cover so many styles and forms, but this is in no way a criticism, as he was certainly a highly accomplished artist, much more accomplished than most of us could ever hope to be (speaking for myself ). I'm often deeply impressed by the level of detail he managed to get into his illustrations and these certainly have a distinguished style - it is possible to identify his work. Yet, like a professional, he did utilise different styles according to the purpose of the work. The illustrations for his Father Christmas Letters are very distinct from those he created for The Hobbit, for example.

I often think just how modern his illustrations are, as Aiwendil has already mentioned. His illustrations make great use of geometric forms, cross-hatching and bold shapes. The shapes used in the trees in the picture Bilbo comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves (if the link works ) is remarkably similar to the bold style used by Clarice Cliff . I think the use of bold shapes was quite common during this period, and I like to think that Tolkien did get some influence from professional artists (and artisans).

It is also possible to see a slight influence of Japanese art in his work, whether intentioned or not I could not say, but many of his mountains remind me of Japanese artwork of Mount Fuji.

Great website, Encaitare!