/John Howe or Allan Lee in drawing Tolkien?/

[WinterSoul]

[B]

Each and every person who is familiar with the works of J.R.R.Tolkien has heard of those two, great, illustrators and has knowledge of their fabulous artwork. Personally I like both of them, and their dedication to Tolkien’s stories in the field of art, and am grateful for their works mean a lot to me as a “Tolkien reader”, but recently this idea popped up in my head. Which one’s art is closer to what Tolkien describes in his books?
I tried answering that question to myself and concluded that this is not an easy task, because no matter the detailed descriptions in “The Lord of The Rings” [I’m mentioning it, for a lot of their art is based on that book] imagination still plays a large role in the process of creating art on that subject.
I mean that despite the details some things have to be imagined by the artist, just in the same way the reader does….
So my question is “Which one’s art do YOU like better; and is it closer to the ideas of JRRT in your opinion [considering that you have read “LOTR”], together with the way you imagine things?”
That question is difficult for me to answer, due to the fact that some thorough analysis must be performed [at least I see it in that way, that’s why it’s hard for me to form my opinion on that issue].
CAN YOU HELP ME?
Hoping to get answers and viewpoints.

Greets,
WinterSoul

:p

[Fatty]

Welcome to war of the Ring! A tricky question, I think which one you like comes down to taste. I don't think there is good or bad art in that sense. Which is holds more true to Tolkien's work.........well for me personally I like John Howe, he has a less detailed but more thematic style.

If you look at Tolkien's own art work I think Roger Garland is closest to that style. Though Tolkien's own art has a very eclectic range. From traditional watercolour which reminds me of some French painters to art nouvea to some turn of the century propaganda art.

Its a great question though, I will need to think more abou *** I think.

[WinterSoul]

hello Fatty,
First of all >>>>>>>EXCELLENT SITE!

i have not heard of Roger Garland. Thanx for sharing that name with me. I'll take a look at his art if i can find something.
And concerning Tolkien's own artwork - i'm not really familliar with it. Where can i find some?
that would be helpfull for i will be able to make some comparisons and maybe answer this tough question, which has been puzzling me.

[Fatty]

Ah thanks! Glad you like it. You can see both Tolkien's and Roger Garlands in the Gallery here on the site. :-)

[WinterSoul]

That's what happens when you like a forum too much
You forget about the other parts of the site :)) lol
i already got some pics by Tolkien himself and R.G but i haven't seen all of them thoroughly yet.
i'll get back to that topic as soon as possible

[WinterSoul]

well it's been a while since i've checked this thread and a lot of things have changed since then.
I got lots of tolkien's own drawings as well as a bunch of Garland images [scanned]
i was really captured by R Garland's paitings........what impressed me was the saturation of color and as a whole i enjoyed his works.
Okay now comments on Tolkien's drawing briefly........Not really inpressed by his art but i do find it nice. he had an interesting perspective . Also good usage of colors.
As who is closer to Tolkien .....................still can't figure that out. But now i prefer Howe than Lee. Though their art is totally diferent

[Orofacion of the Vanyar]

Indeed WinterSoul, I prefer, and have always preferred Howe over Lee. But as Fatty stated earlier, that is all a matter of taste and has little bearing on the debate of "who is more accurate." This topic itself is a little tough because as you have said, a big factor is creativity and interpretation. If we are going to look at such a factor, the prefessor himself would be the only candidate for such a title.

This is what I find so wonderful about art itself, the expression and interpretation that one can put into a work. It's what I see is the underlying factor within a civilization, the people's own creativety made carnate. It's a beautiful thing.

As far as Mr.Garland's work, not quite my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong though, his work is extremely enjoyable and interesting to boot, but he definetly has a unique styling that I have never really developed a taste for. His work resembles art from the Aztecs and Incan's of South America mixed with the cartographers of the Renaissance to me. The stiff characters and the over-endulgent styling just seem a little too overboard to me. His portrait of Ulmo resembles the portraits of the "sea-monsters" seen in early maps of the Americas.

But this is all according to taste as has been said. I do however like his depiction of the Two Trees as well as his interpretation of the Gates of Sun. Amazing artist, not my style though.

[Catz]

so much depends on whether or not a particular style appeals to an individual.....i like both Howe and Lee, but i have fairly specific images of theirs that i like......for me, Lees landcapes are lovely with their detail, but for figures i prefer Howes looser style....more evocotive IMO....but then that may just be because my own style is fairly loose......
As to accuracy, thats a real problem...cos even with a specific description, no two people ever see anything the same way....so i think its really outside of the scope of most artists, unless youre talking about Tolkien himself as you said Oro, since hes the only one who really knows what his scenes should look like...
But i prefer an artist to give me their own interpretation.....then i can accept or reject it....
:catz: