The artwork of subsequent fantasy - Introduction

[Beren IV]

Okay, I am busier this week than I would have liked to have been, but I have only four topics myself, but even so there might be some spillover. If you have any topics and/or images that you would like to discuss in addition to those I post here, please feel free to add your own threads!

Now, that said, on to the preface of this week's discussion:

The works of J.R.R. Tolkien, together with a handful of other authors, resulted in the emergence of the genre of fiction that we familiarly call 'fantasy'. Before Tolkien and his contemporaries, mostly early to mid-Twentieth Century (although H.P. Lovecraft was earlier), fantasy as we know it was the realm of children's stories, fairy-tales for the most part intended to illustrate a moral and often not intended for reading and enjoyment by adolescents or adults. There have been stories that we would call 'fantasy' that are older, of course; it is likely that a fair number of the patrons of Shakespeare were aware of or did not believe in the magical forces that appear in several of his plays, and there are other stories like that of earlier times, but the wholesale making up of fantasy stories, detailing forces in the universe known not to exist by both author and reader, is a relatively recent phenomenon. Needless to say, Tolkien's works have very strongly influenced the genre: much of the subsequent development of the genre was probably in turn influenced by a roleplaying game called Dungeons and Dragons (which we will be discussing in considerable detail), and its "classic" fantasy world, as well as the fantasy worlds inspired by role-playing and other games, are populated by Tolkien's races: Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Halflings (the term 'Hobbit' is copyright by Tolkien Enterprises). Magical items and artifacts likewise can have an overarching effect on the story, some with obvious powers, and others more abstract, such as the One Ring's ability to effectively control the world.

And yet, despite the obvious similarities and outright use of intellectual material belonging to Tolkien, there are also some notable differences between Tolkien's fantasy and the fantasy genre on average.

Artists love fantasy. The canvas allows the artist to bring to life fantastical beings, fantastical characters, and fantastical situations that cannot rightly be described in only text, as the objects in question are things that we have no experience upon which to truly imagine them: they are, after all, fantastical, not real. There are of course many different artists, with many different artistic styles and many different artistic subjects. Nearly all well-known artwork depicting Tolkien's world, however - the primary exception perhaps being that of Maria Lombarde Ezpeleta - tends to have a characteristic feel to it: most of the people run around wearing Dark Ages sort of clothing, living in Dark Ages sorts of conditions, and using Dark Ages sort of tools - things which Tolkien implies of some of the peoples in some of his writing, but hardly all of them. There are relatively few female characters in Tolkien, but those there are are portrayed for the most part in a very androgenous and often radiantly asexual manor. What magic there is in Tolkien's works seems often an avoided subject to those wishing to portray it, keeping it off-stage, much as Tolkien did. Artwork portraying a number of subsequent fantasy stories isn't like that.

In this week's discussion, we will look at some artwork depicting fantasy worlds created by authors other than Tolkien, but strongly influenced by Tolkien. The goal is to then compare this artwork to that which actually does portray Tolkien's world, and investigate the origin of the similarities - and differences. We will be focusing heavily but not exclusively on Dungeons and Dragons, because it has a large quantity of readily available online artwork that, I feel, is generally representative of artwork depicting the "Tolkienian" fantasy genre, even if it is not representative of the art depicting the works of Tolkien himself. As of the moment, I have five topics planned:

Monday - Tolkien's races part I: Humans, Halflings, Dwarves
Tuesday - Tolkien's races part II: Elves, Orcs/Goblins, Ents/Treants
Wednesday - Magic, including warfare in fantasy that often makes use of magic
Thursday - Portrayals of women, and by extension of sexuality (note: there will be no actually sexually explicit scenes)
Friday - Gritty versus Heroic fantasy artwork

With that said, I am going to start off with some artwork by artists that also depict Tolkien, just as a few examples:

Alan Lee:

Merlin

Gormenghast (book by Mervin Peake)


Blodeudd (fictional work unknown; you can see the description here. Warning: nudity)

__________

John Howe:

Secrets of the Tombs

The Rider from Triesen: Unexpected Encounter

Book cover (title is printed on cover)

_________

Ted Nasmith:

Caer comes to Aegnus by Night (Findon, The Dream of Aegnus)

The Crystal Dragon (cover illustration; information on painting)

The Third Magic (Wilton Katz)

__________

Questions:

1. What do you think characterizes artwork depicting Tolkien’s world as a whole? Do you think these tendencies leave any significant gaps in valid ways to depict Arda?

2. Does the other artwork of artists famous for their Tolkien-inspired works, such as Lee, Howe, and Nasmith, seem any different to you than their Tolkien-inspired artwork? In any differences in style you can detect, which do you prefer?

3. To what extent do you think that other fiction writers, including the makers of Dungeons and Dragons, are plagiarizing Tolkien by using his races, etc.? Are they part of Tolkien’s ‘deplorable cultus’?

4. Tolkien’s preference for abstract depictions (e.g. Cor Blok) aside, to what extent do you think he would approve or disapprove of contemporary artwork depicting his races, if not his world? Why would he feel this way?

5. Do you think that typical Tolkien-inspired artwork has some element or elements that are lacking in the art for other fantasy?

 

[N.E. Brigand]

on Apr. 14 in his discusison of fantasy before Tolkien at the University of Vermont conference, with lots of slides (though he noted that cover art was pretty simple in the first third of the century, before publishers began to use it for advertisting purposes. I particularly remember the Housman siblings, Clemence and Laurence, also writers, who illustrated each other's works, if I read my notes correctly.

 

[Beren IV]

I am not aware that fantasy was as popular pre-Tolkien, but...

(In any case, this discussion is on artwork for fantasy inspired by Tolkien, as this is a Tolkien-fantasy forum)

 

[Modtheow]

2. Does the other artwork of artists famous for their Tolkien-inspired works, such as Lee, Howe, and Nasmith, seem any different to you than their Tolkien-inspired artwork? In any differences in style you can detect, which do you prefer?

The "Merlin" picture by Lee looks typical to me of his work: the tangled grey trees, the Ent-like figure that seems to grow out of the branches.

The one that surprised me the most was John Howe's "Secrets of the Tomb" -- I never would have guessed that was Howe's, probably because it doesn't have evil-looking creatures, armour, battles, or architecture, just an ordinary-looking guy ("Born of Elven Blood" is more along the lines of what I would have expected). I was going to say the same about "The Rider from Triesen" but then I took another look at the trees and the misty background, and that looks like Howe's fantasy landscape -- I almost expect Gandalf to come striding down that path. I'm not used to seeing ordinary girls in these pictures either, but perhaps that girl is reminiscent of some of his hobbits. Now that I'm looking more closely at that picture, I'd say that the dog looks enough like a dark, menacing Howe-like creature.

Has Nasmith painted Luthien? I'm looking at his "Caer" picture and thinking that I wouldn't like Luthien to look like that, but I'm not sure why exactly.

I don't know the story on which the last picture is based ("The Third Magic") -- is that a young girl in contemporary clothes running across the bridge with a boy in medieval costume? In any case, the bridge looks modern and evil, sort of like pictures of Barad-dur.

3. To what extent do you think that other fiction writers, including the makers of Dungeons and Dragons, are plagiarizing Tolkien by using his races, etc.? Are they part of Tolkien’s ‘deplorable cultus’?

D&D was inspired by Tolkien's fiction, wasn't it? As Tolkien himself wrote, at one time in his life he thought he could create a body of myths that other people could elaborate on in writing, art, and music, and in the end he was more successful than he probably ever imagined. That's how myths and folktales and legends work -- they circulate freely and anyone can retell them in their own ways. Tolkien himself used elements from earlier works too -- from the Kalevala, the Eddas, Beowulf -- though he reworked them to create a very full, very believable mythical world in which others like to play. The problem is that we no longer live in an entirely oral culture in which poets and artists are free to transmit well known tales in any way they like; we've developed notions of plagiarism and copyright, and of course, profit is at stake. So I think there's always this balancing act going on between the free play of myth-making and the need to protect intellectual property.

As I've said elsewhere, I don't know many fantasy writers or artists, so I'd be interested in hearing your answers to your questions, Beren. It looks like you've thought a lot about this subject.

 

[Beren IV]

Lúthien is hardly a prominant figure in the last one, although she's certainly noticeable. Nasmith's Lúthien is arguably my favorite depiction of Lúthien out there, although he notably does not portray her up close, so we don't get her facial features. Eissmann is even closer to the mark as far as Lúthien's facial and body shape are concerned, but even she doesn't have a real face-shot that I know of, but I think she gets the feel of Lúthien right: alert, attentive, always looking around. Eissmann does her dress a little too dark, though, in my opinion.

I notice some similarities between Nasmith's Lúthien and Caer, here. From other artwork on the site, there may be some more similarities beyond these, also. However, I notice a very similar hairstyle, and a very similar body shape, between the two women.

As I've said elsewhere, I don't know many fantasy writers or artists, so I'd be interested in hearing your answers to your questions, Beren. It looks like you've thought a lot about this subject.

Well...

1. What do you think characterizes artwork depicting Tolkien’s world as a whole? Do you think these tendencies leave any significant gaps in valid ways to depict Arda?

Tolkien's writing is very atmospheric; there is a very distinct undercurrent of "we are living in the Dark Ages where everything is magical and nothing sophistocated" sort of feeling. Most Tolkien artwork I think reflects that: nighttime light sources seem to be faded and perhaps dreary, and although daytime light is often vibrant, it seems to emphasize the emptiness of the world's culture, if you will. The vast majority of Arda seems to be wilderness. Most of the characters also look to be wearing heavy clothing, as if the world is always quite cold, even in summer. There are no togas or bodices or other Mediteranean type clothing even in Gondor: everybody is in heavy cloaks and robes and headdresses to resist cold - another aspect of Dark Ages atmosphere.

Somehow, and I don't know how this is, Tolkien's ultraconservative Catholic sensibilities also somehow seep into the art. Artists and authors alike seem to enjoy portraying Arda as magic-poor and its peoples as almost prudish. I usually like more magic, although I am admittedly annoyed by the "artillery"-style magic so common in a lot of fantasy as it seems to take the place of everything else. I also would like artwork that is less prudish, exploring the physical bodies of the different characters and races more than it does - although again, the outright scanty outfits of a lot of other fantasy artwork I find equally irritating.


2. Does the other artwork of artists famous for their Tolkien-inspired works, such as Lee, Howe, and Nasmith, seem any different to you than their Tolkien-inspired artwork? In any differences in style you can detect, which do you prefer?

To be honest, I haven't read any of these books myself. The artwork depicted here however is clearly that of the artists who made it, from the background, character proportions, and so on. However, the image is of a world that is more fantastical, either more grandiouse and civilized or more sinister. The fire in The Third Magic especially adds to the evil feeling of the setting. So, while I detect differences, there are also great similarities. However, if I were to be writing sequels to Tolkien but set in the same world, nearly all of these could easily fit into Arda, unlike some of the artwork I post in subsequent posts.


3. To what extent do you think that other fiction writers, including the makers of Dungeons and Dragons, are plagiarizing Tolkien by using his races, etc.? Are they part of Tolkien’s ‘deplorable cultus’?

To be honest, I am grappling with this question myself. My primary reason for liking Tolkien's legendarium above the fantasy that it inspires is because it represents the original. I do at times worry that Dungeons and Dragons and subsequent inspirations are plagerizing Tolkien to some extent, although at the same time I wish they were more true to their original source of inspiration sometimes. Tolkien's writing was better than most other authors, as was his conception of his world, but there are some glaring difficulties in the backstory, especially in the Silmarillion, that occasionally make me want to cast aside the entire genre. I have yet to encounter another fantasy world that doesn't have its own problems, however.


4. Tolkien’s preference for abstract depictions (e.g. Cor Blok) aside, to what extent do you think he would approve or disapprove of contemporary artwork depicting his races, if not his world? Why would he feel this way?

Well, I think it depends on when in his life you were to ask him this question. Tolkien seems to me to have become increasingly devout and increasingly disgusted with the world at large as he grew older. Had he continued this trend, I suspect, he may even have condemned his own work as a sin of his earlier life and renounced it. I don't know how far along the path of religious fantacism Tolkien truly got, if he would ever have regarded a person of more modern sensibilities as evil or perhaps just misguided. I suspect that Tolkien would have been more mellow and more pleased with the artwork earlier in his life than later on.


5. Do you think that typical Tolkien-inspired artwork has some element or elements that are lacking in the art for other fantasy?

Yes - it seems to me that way too much of fantasy artwork in today's culture is centered around combat in some way, and even that strikes me as being extremely vapid. Tolkien artists, Lee, Nasmith, Howe, and even those on this board, are much more thoughtful than most fantasy artists are on average, I think. Just as I think that Tolkien's own conceptions are pointlessly aescetic, I think an awful lot of his opposites are way too vapid.