Pictures of J. R. R. Tolkien

by J. R. Toldien

In this sumptuous collection of Tolkien's art, we gain a new understanding of the visual aspects of his remarkable imagination. This memorable collection will delight Tolkien enthusiasts with its beauty and its range. It contains 48 full-color reproductions of Tolkien's paintings and colored drawings, as well as original pen-and-ink drawings, some published here for the first time. Long out of print, the volume is now re-issued with a revised text by Christopher Tolkien. Pictures will provide a unique and fascinating insight into Tolkien's visual conception of many of the places and characters familiar to readers of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. Examples of his art range from delicate watercolours depicting Rivendell, the Forest of Lothlorien, Smaug and Old Man Willow to drawings and sketches of Moria Gate and Minas Tirith. Together they form a comprehensive collection of Tolkien's own illustrations for his most popular books. Also included are many of his beautiful designs showing patterns of flowers and trees, friezes, tapestries and heraldic devices associated with the world of Middle-earth. In their variety and scope they provide abundant visual evidence of the richness of his imagination. Christopher Tolkien's text gives detailed notes on the sources for each picture.

Genres: Fantasy, Art, Fiction, Classics, Science Fiction Fantasy, Picture Books, Collections

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

These painting will make you Rada-gasp.
Okay that was bad. But Radagast is awesome. Let's go make friends with birds.
What I love best about Tolkien’s art is that he doesn’t paint to depict his world so much as his paintings are depicted as if they are of his world.

He paints as if he is a painter in Middle Earth not England and I think that is beautiful.

And I will always love me some Middle Earth lore. The lore is the best part.

I want to paint a dragon now.

I have to return this book to the library and I'm going to dramatically struggle to drop it in the return bin and then yell about Isildur for awhile while insisting everyone call me Tom Bombadil and I'll sing a silly song or three. You've been warned.

[Peiman · Rating 4 out of 5]

اگر به نوشته‌های تالکین علاقه دارید، احتمالاً طراحی و نقاشی‌های تالکین از تصویر ذهنی‌ش براتون جالبه

[Matthew Ted]

I won't be including this in my yearly challenge, as Christopher has only written several lines to accompany each picture; it involves more looking than reading.

It is a beautiful book in itself, with a painting of Glaurung on the slipcase. Inside are 48 pictures by Tolkien, almost all of them illustrations of Middle-earth, save a few at the end. His watercolour work is truly beautiful, and shows great control and skill. My favourite is probably, still, his painting of Taniquetil, which you'll sometimes find on the front of copies of The Silmarillion. It is the highest mountain that guards Valinor and where Manwë puts his throne. And in the foreground, one of the white ships of the Telerin Elves.



I was in Oxford a few months ago and more than anything else, in the Bodleian Library gift shop, there were reproductions of this particular piece of Tolkien's called "Bilbo Comes to the Huts of the Raft-elves", from The Hobbit. Large blown up reproductions for framing, and even tote bags. I wondered at the time why this painting over all the others, but it is a nice one.



And finally, a nostalgic one for me. This painting of Smaug is on the front cover of my mother's copy of The Hobbit, the one she read to me as a child. So always a favourite.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

You might not know that J. R. R. Tolkien was also a talented artist with a pencil. This book contains a few of his drawings with some information on them. These are all wonderful and some were new to me! It begins with the drawings featured in The Hobbit and then continues with drawings from the other books. This was very enjoyable for me!

[Daniel Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This picture book is narrated by Tolkien’s son, Christopher. And it contains 48 sketches and drawings of characters and settings from The Hobbit, LOTR, and The Silmarillion. They contain the originals by Tolkien and colorized versions made for calendars in the 1970s. They are actually quite well done, as if done by an illustrator. But they are unquestionably done by Tolkien. Amazon has it for $19.29 plus tax and shipping.

[Ettelwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strašně často zapomínám na tuhle Tolkienovu stránku.
Některý věci jsou jedna velká náramnost!

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick to read as Christopher Tolkien's commentary doesn't try to do any more than it needs to; this book is about his father's art, and I absolutely adore Tolkien's art style.

[Amalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tolkien is an artistic genius. This is a collection of illustrations of Middle-Earth done by the man who also created it.

I'd love to own a hard copy of this book!

Here are some examples:

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to find a used copy of this, and I fully enjoyed the beautiful drawings, doodles, and paintings of JRR Tolkien as he drew places from his world the way he envisioned them.

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book that was put together by Christopher Tolkien to showcase his father's artworks and it contains some previously unpublished versions as well

My Favorites:
- The Hill: Hobbiton-across-the-water
- Rivendell (I)
- Rivendell (II)
- Rivendell (III)
- The Mountain Path
- Beorn's Hall
- The Elvenking's Gate
- Death of Smaug
- The Hall at Bag-End, Residence of B. Baggins Esquire
- Old Man Willow
- Moria Gate (I)
- The Forest of Lothlórien in Spring
- Barad-dûr
- Taniquetil
- Nargothrond (II)
- Fangorn Forest
- Trees
- Flowering Trees with Friezes
- Floral Designs

[Lashaan Balasingam · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find my review on my blog by clicking here.

What is Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien about? It is an art book with the sole purpose of collecting all the pictures (paintings, drawings, and designs) conceived by author J.R.R. Tolkien and that were originally published across six calendars from 1973 to 1979 (excluding 1975). On top of these pictures published either by publishers Ballantine Books or George Allen and Unwin, it also includes the original pen and ink illustrations of some of the drawings, coloured and uncoloured. Most of these drawings also pertain to The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion, with a couple of exceptions making the cut. All of these pictures and sketches are accompanied by a primarily documentary nature description, meticulously achieved by his son, Christopher Tolkien.

If you’re looking for stories set in Middle-earth, you might find them here by gazing long enough into the pictures of J.R.R. Tolkien. Otherwise, consider yourself warned, this book purely focuses on displaying J.R.R. Tolkien’s artwork in one neat volume, beautifully put together, fully optimizing paper texture and size to capture the subtle and delightful beauty of his epic fantasy world. While the pen and ink illustrations beautifully showcase the original concept behind some regions of Middle-earth, it is the colorized versions that really give readers a better sense of the fantastical and whimsical elements of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world. His design of some of the creatures (e.g. Smaug is quite adorable in watercolour) is also exquisite, contributing to the mythological essence often attributed to his work.

His son, Christopher Tolkien, does not go beyond concise descriptions of these pictures, mentioning little curious details regarding misinterpretations, referring to other books either written by his father or published posthumously, and even elaborating on some mistakes that have now been corrected in his latest edition. In some rare cases, he even goes in-depth in translation to better understand his father’s created language. In fact, those particular pages, especially “Leaves from the Book of Mazarbul” truly convey the complexity and creativity of his father’s creation.

Unless you want to acquaint yourself with J.R.R. Tolkien’s artwork and discover more of his little side talent, and he does some pretty cool patterns in his newspapers while doing crossword puzzles, there’s nothing else that really justifies paying full price for this art book. Huge Tolkien heads will, however, want this in their collection, hopefully, bought on sale, to blissfully look and read through this, and embrace Middle-earth a bit differently from J.R.R. Tolkien’s more narratively-structured works.

Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien is a lovely collection of pictures by the mind behind The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and succinctly described by his son in a stunning hardcover slipcase edition.

[Tessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The man can draw

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful collection of pictures (paintings, drawings, doodles) by J.R.R. Tolkien as they were published in a series of calendars from 1973-1979, with commentary by Christopher Tolkien. For the most part these images are familiar to me, as they are also available in Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, and I was luckily enough to see some of them in real life as part of the exhibit given at The Morgan Library several years ago. I wouldn't consider myself to be anything like an art critic, but I do rather like Tolkien's style, and its nice to see this small collection back in print for others to enjoy.

[Matthew Richey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting. Beautifully done.

[Alenka of Bohemia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of pictures that are not rare nor the information offered very insightful, but everything is reproduced in the highest quality on a beautiful, sleek paper. Would make for a beautiful gift for any genuine Tolkien lover.

[Mia Ojeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A storyteller. A poet. An artist. Tolkien was a man of many talents! His paintings of the world he created are mesmerizing! His artwork has the same level of detail as his writing. Glad to have read this. Christopher Tolkien deserved a standing ovation for his devotion to honoring his father’s legacy. The amount of posthumous works Christopher helped to compile and publish is insane!

[Michael G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short picture book of JRR Tolkien’s artwork, this will be a joy to peruse over and over and brings back mystical memories of the world he created. I’d like to frame some of these and hang them up! Or maybe try to find some posters or prints…

[BookofElves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a massive fan of Tolkien and all of his work, this book was just as amazing as the rest!❤

There's something so special and personal about it being written and organised by his son Christopher Tolkien. He often writes "my father ----", which gives a sense of magic being passed down to his family. It's evident that Tolkien's magical world of Middle-earth was also a passion of Christopher's (and that is a fact, no doubt)🥰.

The book contains beautiful illustrations from The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. Alongside illustrations of flowers, trees, tiles, scripts and more. There are texts accompanied with each illustration, all of it comes together beautifully.

Tolkien is truly a wonderful writer and skilled artist! The magic is represented perfectly in this book.

A wonderful book for Tolkien fans❤

[Nate Hipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reissued book is absolutely gorgeous: the prints look great and the book itself is beautifully put together. The art inside is well worth it for any Tolkien fan, as well. The two things that keep it just shy of 5 stars for me are that I would’ve liked more commentary on the art included and that I wish the art selection wasn’t just limited to what was used for the calendars. This would’ve been an excellent opportunity to expand the selection and provide additional insight on the pieces included. Still, for what is here, it is absolutely excellent.

[Milad Rami · Rating 4 out of 5]

نگاره های جی. آر. آر. تالکین، تلاشی است برای گردآوری نقاشی‌ها، طراحی‌ها و تصاویری که توسط جی. آر. آر. تالکین ترسیم شده‌اند.

این مجموعه از نگاره‌ها با توضیحاتی تصحیح شده از سوی کریستوفر تالکین، نگاهی به دید تالکین و تصور وی از مکان‌ها و شخصیت‌های دنیای خلق شده در «هابیت»، «ارباب حلقه‌ها» و «سیلماریلیون» می‌اندازد. از این نگاره‌ها می‌توان به آبرنگ‌هایی ظریف برای به تصویر کشیدن ریوندل، جنگل لوتلورین، اسماگ و بیدِ پیر تا نقاشی‌ها و طراحی‌هایی از دروازه موریا و میناس تی‌ریت اشاره کرد.

لینک دانلود:
https://arda.ir/pictures-by-j-r-r-tol...

[Lu_Lost_in_Bookland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veľmi oku lahodiace dielko pre tých, čo si radi rozšíria knihovníčku čímkoľvek, čo prešlo okolo Tolkiena :) Tentoraz sú to ale jeho vlastné kresby, ktoré sprevádzali jeho najznámejšie diela, často len načrtnuté ceruzkou + ich farebné verzie, ako vyšli v kalendároch v rokoch 1974-1979.

[Monique]

I got to look at every page of this wonderful book and see the landscapes of Middle Earth as Tolkien imagined them.

[Yas · Rating 5 out of 5]

نگاره‌های خود تالکین، تصوری که از کارکترها و مکان‌های کتاب‌هاش داشته. خیلی جالب بود و حس خاصی داشت♥️

[Chrystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning.

[Carly Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

delightful. I love seeing the work of artists of many different mediums and watching the crossover in their worlds.

[Leif · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are the images of my childhood. To me, they feel as natural as the world outside composed of its trees and fields and waters. Odd, but comforting. A good book.

[Richard Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

One doesn't necessarily read Tolkien for the pictures, so it's easy to forget about his delightful of his illustrations. A collection that combines original sketches, black and white prints and recoloured work, each is accompanied by a meticulous researched entry from Christopher Tolkien (which you would expect from anything he's involved with). Some of my favourite works from outside Middle-earth, namely the Father Christmas Letters, are only given a single page here but there's literally a whole book of those found elsewhere. Given this has recently been reprinted, it's a fine addition to any aficionado's collection.

[Zivile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I know that the movies, actually, simply used all the drawings for recreating (not inventing!) the visuals! Tolkien’s fantasy’s amazing!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

ABSOLUTELY OBSESSED 😍

[Chris Wray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful book, collecting together a large number of pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien that were originally published in a series of calendars in the 1970s. These comprise paintings, pencil drawings, sketches and designs, some of which are familiar from illustrated editions of Tolkien's book, and some of which have been out of print. Christopher Tolkien's thoughtful and unobtrusive commentary brings the pictures to life and sets them in the broader context of his father's vision for Middle-earth. Although it's not something I generally comment on, the book is also very attractively packaged and so very worthy of a place in any Tolkien enthusiast's library.