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Daughter of Nienna
Grey Havens
Mar 26 2007, 5:56am
Post #1 of 14
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Alan Lee #4 - Places in The Hobbit
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This is one of those posts with few questions, and also few quotes, mostly just images. Below is a link to the introduction with discussion ideas should you get stuck. The next post will be on Tuesday. AM my time...afternoon East Coast time.
DoN
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AL Quote: "As an illustrator, my aim is not to dictate how things should look, but to serve the author's vision, and to create an atmosphere, a space between the words where the eye and mind can wander, and imagine for themselves . . .what will happen next." — Alan Lee (Endicott Studio
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Using Alan Lee's words as my guide, I chose to start with landscapes to "create an atmosphere, a space between the words".
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The Hobbit
They came to the river that marked the...borderland of the Wild
bridge of stone...to the Last Homely House
Bilbo & Company in Mtn — "Somewhere behind the grey clouds the sun must have gone down"
THE Carrock
Mirkwood
King's Cave (in Mirkwood)
Front Gate of the Lonely Mtn
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Architectural Places: Cities, Towns, Buildings ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
'Up jumped Bilbo, and putting on his dressing-gown went into the dining-room.'
Lake-Town
Lake-town by J.R.R. Tolkien:
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Q: The tone of these two versions of Lake-town is very different. How would you describe the tone (not quality) of each? In what context do you think each of these images would sit more comfortably? In other words, what type of printed form: issue of the book (special issue, children's, paperback, hardcover, etc), calendar, poster, etc.)
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They buried Thorin deep beneath the Mountain
Link to introduction for Discussion ideas (questions), should you get stuck for ideas.
http://newboards.theonering.net/...forum_view_expanded;
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Alan Lee Discussion week: starts March 25th in the Reading Room
Scanned images for Alan Lee Discussion.
Alan LeeQuote: "...my aim is not to dictate how things should look, but to serve the author's vision, and to create an atmosphere, a space between the words where the eye and mind can wander, and imagine for themselves . . .what will happen next." — Alan Lee
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Art Gallery Revised, ORC pic of Hawaii friends, my drawings,
Aloha & Mahalo, Websites Directory
Nienna: “ those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope . . . All those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom." — Valaquenta
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drogo
Lorien
Mar 26 2007, 11:58pm
Post #2 of 14
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Thorin's burial is my favorite
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of the Hobbit images, but I am also partial to Lee's illustration of Moria in the LOTR. He also does a good job with Mirkwood: it has that tangled, mysterious quality to it that is at once naturalistic and very surreal. I prefer his illustrations to those of David Wenzel, the one who did the earlier illustrated Hobbit (Wenzel's Elves just aren't right for me!).
Attack of the Hildebrandt Hobbits!
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Morwen
Rohan
Mar 27 2007, 12:36am
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The staircase in the picture of Thorin's burial confused me at first. The part of the staircase in the upper half of the painting, just left of the center, looked backwards to me at first. I had the impression that you'd walk down the first flight of stairs, from the top, and then the second flight of steps turned back under the first flight, upside down, like an overhang, which didn't make any sense. When I looked away and looked back I saw the stairs like they were supposed to be. Anyone else see this? It reminded of one of those M.C. Escher drawings with stairs that don't go anywhere and walkways that don't follow the known laws of gravity.
Except for that minor detail I love that picture. It has a somber, mysterious look befittting a Dwarvish funeral deep beneath a mountain.
I was also drawn to the Mirkwood picture. The tangled branches make a frame for the figures in the center. I feel like this is what an elf would see, secretly watching the progress of the travelers.
I wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore--John Prine
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Radhruin
Rohan
Mar 27 2007, 2:59am
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The strange thing about it is that if I look at the staircase from the top going down, it doesn't make sense. However, going from the bottom to the top does. Is that maybe what you mean? Or quite possibly I'm just crazy.
"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."
~Oscar Wilde
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Morwen
Rohan
Mar 27 2007, 3:18am
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Not that we're crazy, that the upside-down effect happens when I look at the staircase going down from the top.
I'm glad somebody else can see this, too.
I wish you could have been there
When she opened up the door
And looked me in the face
Like she never did before
I felt about as welcome
As a Wal-Mart Superstore--John Prine
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drogo
Lorien
Mar 27 2007, 10:51am
Post #6 of 14
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I never noticed the Escher-esque quality
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But it does work with the way Lee likes to portray Dwarven culture (their love of intricate geometrical forms and facets, etc.). It does take some visual adjustment to get a perspective on the stairs.
Attack of the Hildebrandt Hobbits!
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Alcarcalime
Tol Eressea
Mar 27 2007, 4:06pm
Post #7 of 14
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I didn't notice it until you pointed it out...
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But that must be because I started at the top of the painting and moved down. If I start at the bottom of the painting and look up, the staircase looks upside down; from the top going down the staircase, it looks correct.
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Daughter of Nienna
Grey Havens
Mar 27 2007, 6:35pm
Post #8 of 14
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does it still do that with this size image?
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I kind of see that illusion with the smaller one, but not at all with the bigger one.
http://img-fan.theonering.net/...ages/lee/G_Lee60.jpg
As the stairs gets lower, it gets closer to eye level of the viewer, with is near the same level as the gathering of people on the landing. So less of the tope of hte stairs would be viewable. the problem I have is that the stais seem to end too soon, they seem to just end above the heads of everyone.
Alan Lee Discussion week: starts March 25th in the Reading Room
Scanned images for Alan Lee Discussion.
Alan LeeQuote: "...my aim is not to dictate how things should look, but to serve the author's vision, and to create an atmosphere, a space between the words where the eye and mind can wander, and imagine for themselves . . .what will happen next." — Alan Lee
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~
Art Gallery Revised, ORC pic of Hawaii friends, my drawings,
Aloha & Mahalo, Websites Directory
Nienna: “ those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope . . . All those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom." — Valaquenta
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Mar 28 2007, 3:34am
Post #10 of 14
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"They came to the river..." is a lovely wilderness landscape, giving a good sense of the expanse. It does nag at me a bit, though, that Lee painted a bridge, when the text says there's a ford, and Bilbo and Gandalf are digging up the Troll's gold quite a ways from where it was actually buried. It's as if he's combined several scenes into one.
"A Narrow bridge of stone..." makes me feel giddy; it's a long drop into cold water if one doesn't watch their footing, crossing that narrow unsided bridge! You can almost hear the sound of the falls and the water rushing beneath.
"Somewhere behind the grey clouds..." has a sinister feel to it. Looking at the larger version, the barren branches above the dwarves look like they're about to reach down and grab the cloaked figures.
Quite a view from the Carrock! Is that line of distant green Mirkwood? But I would not want to descend those stairs.
Now, that's far more like Mirkwood than Tolkien's. The twisted trunks look like an impossible maze! I also like the way this "King's Cave" is hidden amongst the ramble of trees, but it seems an Elven-king would have a more ornate door.
Notice the smoke coming from the front gate of Erebor. This is not an easy place to get to - very defensible, unless you're a dragon on the wing.
Very definitive sketch of the interior of Bag End: this is obviously a place that has been carved out of the ground, like a maze of subway tunnels. Simple, yet comfortable. The rug on the stone floor is a nice touch.
Lake-town seems comparable to Tolkien's version. Very medieval, and livable. The bridge - what's the name of the type, that swings up like that? - is a nice touch. The difference in tone is that of night scene versus day, and the view from above (showing the distance up the lake) instead of straight-on. Tolkien's version is, of course, more geared towards children. I'd like to see Lee's on a calendar, where the larger size lets one see more of the details.
Thorin's burial has a definite Moria-feel about it. I don't see the "illusion" in the stairs, though - although they do seem to have to go through that doorway when they end.
One thing in common: these are all pleasant to look at!
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"Confusticate and bebother these dwarves!"
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Radhruin
Rohan
Mar 28 2007, 6:50am
Post #11 of 14
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Maybe you've already noticed this
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But I saw after I really sat down and studied the picture, that there are portions of the staircase that don't "jump" out at you. Meaning there is an upper and lower portion that make the "swinging" staircase, ala Harry Potter, make more sense. The portion in the very well lit part of the picture in the upper left meets the first stairs that are more readily visible.
All I think of is the Bridge of Khazad-dum in PJ's Fellowship. And a very good likeness it is.
"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth."
~Oscar Wilde
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Wynnie
Rohan
Mar 29 2007, 12:45am
Post #12 of 14
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What jumps out at me about the stairs is the Z shape they sketch, reminiscent of the very prominent Z in Lee's view of the road to the Firienfeld. Maybe he likes zigzags.
The palette in the Thorin painting seems somewhat Rembrandtesque: brown background splashed with golden light (EXAMPLE). He did name Rembrandt as his favorite artist, according to a quote in your first post this week. The use of color and light very effectively convey the mood of this solemn and majestic scene.
Owlamoo
ink drawing by JRRT
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Daughter of Nienna
Grey Havens
Mar 29 2007, 4:17am
Post #13 of 14
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I love to look for patterns in an artist's work. Please let me know if you notice this pattern in any more of his pieces.
You'd think I would have looked for the patterns in his work myself by now...however, I have only had time to gather, organize, scan, upload, type quotes, copy-paste quotes, make files, hyperlink everything, format text, more organizing, test, fix, re-test, fix-again and test-again. But it's been fun. :-)
Your Rembrandt example is quite interesting in its similarity in color and tone. It's perhaps a bit enlightening (if given some time for thought on it).
Thanks for the catch.
Further information:
Rembrandt used a different medium (oil paints versus watercolors) and used a technique called under-painting. Which accounts for the vibrant luminosity. Watercolors can use an under-painting, but Watercolor paint behaves differently over a layer of paint that it does on the raw surface. I am sure in one of the links posted in my intro or bio threads, he discusses this issue and states how he prefers the raw paper surface oppose to doing an under-painting with watercolor paints because the interaction of the watercolor paint, the paper and the artist…there being a kind of 'dialogue' that transpires (something to that effect).
What happens though is that the value range (or contrast) is not as deep as in Rembrandt's work. This is neither good or bad, just different. Lee's style tends not to be very contrasty, I think watercolor suits his style tremendously well.
UNDER PAINTING. A tonal painting, (sometimes monochromatic), over which additional paint, SCUMBLES and GLAZES are applied to produce additional depth. This is a common practice even with opaque paints which rarely cover in one coat.
Links:
Underpainting - The Girl with a Pearl Earring .com
Dead Coloring" or Underpainting
The Technical Innovations of Rembrandt, by Virgil Elliott © 2001
Classic Realism in Transparent Watercolor
A Brief Introduction to Artist Graydon Parrish - After the collapse of the artistic principles and techniques of the Renaissance in the early twentieth-century
Underpainting – Wikipedia, a basic definition
Alan Lee Discussion week: starts March 25th in the Reading Room
Discussion Ideas, Alan Lee–Introduction, Scanned images for Alan Lee Discussion.
Art Gallery Revised, ORC pic of Hawaii friends, my drawings,
Aloha & Mahalo, Websites Directory
Nienna: “ those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope . . . All those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom." — Valaquenta
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Curious
Half-elven
Mar 31 2007, 8:53am
Post #14 of 14
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All very nice pictures, but not how I picture The Hobbit.
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It is so very realistic. It is more fitting for the reimagining of The Hobbit in Unfinished Tales, i.e. The Hobbit as a prequel to the War of the Ring. It gives us a good hint, I suppose, at what The Hobbit would look like if Peter Jackson gets a chance to film it.
I do like the elf skinny dipping at Rivendell, although Tolkien might have placed them in the trees instead. I also like the dwarf bent over as if he doesn't quite trust this bridge without railings. The picture displays an unusual amount of humor for Lee.
I would like much, much more of that humor in illustrations from The Hobbit, for the story is full of gentle humor, I judge. During the first half of the book most of the humor comes at Bilbo's expense, although Gandalf also makes the trolls and goblins look silly. Later, after Gandalf leaves the party, Bilbo starts to prove his worth and the dwarves start to look silly. Then when Bilbo fools the elves he makes them look silly. There are silly scenes in Laketown as well, as the dwarves and men predict an easy victory over Smaug.
Even Smaug can look silly, as he shows off his underbelly to Bilbo. In the last few chapters the humor turns more biting, as the silliness of the dwarves, in particular, nearly results in war among allies. Even in the midst of the Battle of Five Armies, Bilbo looks a bit silly when he gets knocked out with the ring on, and no one can find him. There are many opportunities for humor in illustrating The Hobbit, and I see little humor in Lee's illustrations.
The Carrock at least hints at a sunny sky, although we do not see any blue above. The stairway down from The Carrock seems to disappear twice, once over the edge of a cliff, and the second time perhaps into a tunnel. I wouldn't want to have to climb down.
The trees seem rather short in both views of Mirkwood. Tolkien drew a mature forest with a canopy high overhead blocking out the sunlight even at noon, and the trunks of the trees sticking up like pillars below. That may be rather unrealistic, but it is a fantasy, after all. Of course in the two pictures here Lee does not show us the middle of the forest, but rather the entrance at one end and the exit to the Elvenking's hall at the other end.
Lee's sketch of Bilbo's hallway is much smaller than Tolkien's or even than the movie version, I judge; Gandalf would not be able to stand up at all. Like Howe, Lee shows the light streaming through the door and windows. Bag End must have been quite dark when the door was closed and the sun was anywhere but directly outside the windows (i.e. overhead or on the other side of the hill).
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