Scan barcode
A review by kittyg
The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien by Wayne G. Hammond, J.R.R. Tolkien, Christina Scull
4.0
This is a book I picked up as research for my Dissertation and I have to say it's well worth the read even if you're not writing a dissertation about it. This book collects a vast amount of Tolkien's original artworks (which he himself was highly critical of) and shows them right from the inception (pencil lines sketches) right through to the final Ink or Watercolour illustrations that made it into the print versions of the book. I found it to be a fascinating look at not only Tolkien's art, but an insightful tale of how the book gradually became the final product and the various mistakes, edits and revisions to the artwork and maps along the way.
I loved being able to find out the quotes which related directly to the images (as these were frequently referenced) and see exactly what Tolkien was thinking when he began the illustrating process. He never truly wanted to be an artist and never fully considered his work to be of a high quality, but he tirelessly revised and reworked to get the best images he could (not being one for people it was usually landscape and architecture-based) and you can see the naive passion and love he had for the world through them.
I also found that the way the book is written and laid out is concise and easy to follow with images being displayed in chronologic order from inception to final piece and then each being related to a certain chapter/place in the text. The way it was laid out allowed the reader to follow the way that Tolkien discovered and invented his sets and worlds and really gave a sense of the magical place he imagined Middle-Earth to be.
On the whole it's a solid, wonderful book with some stunning images and great original artworks. I would highly recommend this if you have a particular liking for the Hobbit, J R R Tolkien or knowing exactly how the process of making this renowned little book began. A great 4* read.
I loved being able to find out the quotes which related directly to the images (as these were frequently referenced) and see exactly what Tolkien was thinking when he began the illustrating process. He never truly wanted to be an artist and never fully considered his work to be of a high quality, but he tirelessly revised and reworked to get the best images he could (not being one for people it was usually landscape and architecture-based) and you can see the naive passion and love he had for the world through them.
I also found that the way the book is written and laid out is concise and easy to follow with images being displayed in chronologic order from inception to final piece and then each being related to a certain chapter/place in the text. The way it was laid out allowed the reader to follow the way that Tolkien discovered and invented his sets and worlds and really gave a sense of the magical place he imagined Middle-Earth to be.
On the whole it's a solid, wonderful book with some stunning images and great original artworks. I would highly recommend this if you have a particular liking for the Hobbit, J R R Tolkien or knowing exactly how the process of making this renowned little book began. A great 4* read.