Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush 'Lord of the Rings' Landscape
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jrr-tolkiens-estate-publishes-rare-lord-of-the-rings-paintings-and-maps-online-180979674/
Rarely Seen Paintings by J.R.R. Tolkien Portray a Lush Lord of the Rings Landscape
The Tolkien Estate recently published a trove of rare, unpublished art by the famed fantasy author on its website
Nora McGreevy
Daily Correspondent
March 18, 2022
Detail from Tolkien's Conversation With Smaug, 1937 Courtesy of the Tolkien Estate / © The Tolkien Estate Limited
In his high-fantasy novels, British author J.R.R. Tolkien combined his academic training in languages and his love of storytelling to create Middle-earth, a fictional continent populated by wizards, elves, orcs, dragons, hobbits, talking trees and other mythical creatures.
But Middle-earth didnt just live in Tolkiens head: The Lord of the Rings author was also a skilled artist who sketched, painted and mapped the worlds that he was imagining as he wrote about them. Many of the original illustrations in the Hobbit were created by Tolkien himself.
Audiences can now view a selection of Tolkiens rarely seen Lord of the Rings artworks for free via the Tolkien Estates newly updated website, reports Sarah Cascone for Artnet. The portal, which debuted last month, also allows viewers to explore documents, images and audio clips related to Tolkiens personal life and his lesser-known pursuits as a mapmaker, calligrapher and artist.
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Tolkien Estate site:
https://www.tolkienestate.com/painting/the-hobbit/