Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle-Earth

Considering how lush and incredible the world of Middle Earth is, I found that this collection of artwork based on it to be lacking. It is obvious that the selection of paintings are quite dated, but that's not really an excuse for picking these drab pieces. The colours are especially disappointing, as it seems that many of the artists lack the understanding of natural light and colour unity. I was also less than impressed with many of their compositional and lineal styles, as fantasy illustrations have a potential to be extremely detailed, yet none of the artists took advantage of this!

A staggering amount of artwork has been inspired and based upon J.R.R. Tolkien's writing, so I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to pick just a few dozen to put in this collection. Included are pieces depicting scenes from many of his books, mostly 'The Hobbit', 'The Lord of the Rings', and 'The Silmarillion', each with a short excerpt from the appropriate text. Many styles, from realism to expresionism, are present, showing many different representations of our favorite characters. I cannot say I like all of them, but none are lacking skill and passion. These artists clearly love their subject, and that counts for a lot in my book. I just would have liked to see more dwarves. Peace.

A lovely collection of illustrations of Tolkien's work from various artists. Each artist has a page at the end to tell of themselves and their inspirations. Nice addition to my Tolkien shelf.

Wonderful paintings excellent Volume to intrest Younger Readers

Art by varous artists based on the works by Tolkien, J. R. R.