Realms of Tolkien: Images of Middle-earth

by J.R.R. Tolkien, Alan Lee (Illustrator), Ted Nasmith (Illustrator)

Following the success of "Tolkien's World," this new collection of shining illustrations inspired by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien is as beautiful and unique as its predecessor. This breathtaking four-color volume is designed in a deluxe, oversized format, and includes paintings from a diverse group of international artists. Each picture is accompanied by text from the relevant passage in Tolkien's fiction as well as a personal statement by the artist about the inspiration and influence J.R.R. Tolkien has had on their work. Includes works by an electric group of artists, both famous and up-and-coming: Alan Lee, renowned for his atmospheric interpretations of folklore and legend, as well as his stunning illustrations for "The Lord of the Rings" John Howe, creator of many Tolkien book covers and acclaimed for his powerful representations of the landscapes and peoples of Middle-earth Ted Nasmith, known for his classically accurate and dramatic pictures Inger Edelfeldt, illustrator of many beautiful and unusual Tolkien calendars, book covers and posters.

Genres: Fantasy, Art, Fiction, High Fantasy, Picture Books, Science Fiction Fantasy, Reference

144 pages, Hardcover

First published October 17, 1996

About the author

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets.

Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.

Tolkien was an accomplished amateur artist who painted for pleasure and relaxation. He excelled at landscapes and often drew inspiration from his own stories. He illustrated many scenes from The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, sometimes drawing or painting as he was writing in order to visualize the imagined scene more clearly.

Tolkien was a professor at the Universities of Leeds and Oxford for almost forty years, teaching Old and Middle English, as well as Old Norse and Gothic. His illuminating lectures on works such as the Old English epic poem, Beowulf, illustrate his deep knowledge of ancient languages and at the same time provide new insights into peoples and legends from a remote past.

Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1892 to English parents. He came to England aged three and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915 and saw active service in France during the First World War before being invalided home. After the war he pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional work, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a mythology for England; it was this ‘legendarium’ that he would work on throughout his life. But his literary work did not start and end with Middle-earth, he also wrote poetry, children’s stories and fairy tales for adults. He died in 1973 and is buried in Oxford where he spent most of his adult life.

Reviews

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of images from Tolkien's world from several artists: not only the renown Ted Nasmith, John Howe and Alan Lee (definitely the best IMHO) but also from Inger Edelfeldt, Fletcher and many others.
Beware this book comes with two different covers but the content is exactly the same (the one I have shows Merry and Pippin on Treebeard, during the Entmoot (cover) and a Mumakil at the back).

[Elijah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, so many amazing pictures!! Definitely a EASY five stars!! I would highly recommend to any LOTR, or Tolkien fans!! My favorite one out of here, was the Attack of the Wraiths, picture done by Ted Nasmith. "Immediately through everything else remained as before, dim and dark, the shapes became terribly clear. He was able to see beneath their black wrappings. There were five tall tall dark figures: two standing on the lip of the dell; three advancing. In their white faces burned keen and merciless eyes. Under their mantles were long grey robes; upon their hairs were helms of silver; in their haggard hands were swords of steel. Their eyes fell on him and pierced him, as they rushed towards him. Desperate, he drew his own sword, and it seemed to him that it flicked red, as if it were firebrand.
-The Fellowship of The Ring.


One of my favorite passages in that book!!

[Jessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una recopilación de imagenes preciosa, es curioso ver como los diferentes artistas imaginan los mismos personajes. Me gustaron particularmente las ilustraciones de John Howe, Carol Emery Phenix, Ted Nasmith, Stephen Hickman y Alan Lee. Aunque debo admitir que todas son preciosas.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book I was looking for: a collection of different artists' depictions of Middle Earth. The art chosen is beautiful, and I love the idea behind the book. Unfortunately, the execution of the book was extremely poor and it really fell short of its potential. What the editors chose to do was just create an assortment of art rather scrambled together, and just include a relevant passage from Tolkein's text, along with the artist's name. At the very end, there's one page dedicated to each artist, providing some information about them. The book would have been exceedingly better had it been organized by artist, with information about the art and the artist's relationship to it per section!

[Eduardo Rodríguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

El libro es una pasada, las ilustraciones no son las que comúnmente vemos y que están inspiradas en las películas de P. Jackson por ejemplo. Además de que a cada imagen le antecede un texto de los mismos libros, hace que te emocione la incertidumbre de no saber como es la interpretación que le dan los autores a dichas imágenes. Muy recomendable, sobretodo para los que amamos la tierra media.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the artwork by Alan Lee, John Howe, Stephen Hickman and Ted Nasmith the most.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lovely complication of Tolkien inspired art paired with quotes, followed by author bios. Of course, some art was more to my taste than others, however I also thought the quality of some of the prints were better than others as some are pretty fuzzy and others are sharp. Also, I wish there was more thought put into the arrangement. It would've been nice to have everything chronologically or grouped by artist.

[Mayu Vargas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como dice su título "Reinos de Tolkien" es un libro de ilustraciones de "El señor de los Anillos", en esta recopilación de diferentes artistas ilustran partes de los libros, a mi que soy fanática de Tolkien, me gustó, leer párrafos del libro y luego sus ilustraciones, pero creo que este libro es para fanáticos solamente. 🤷🏻‍♀️🖤

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fun seeing different takes on Middle-earth. Alan Lee and John Howe stand out, which is probably why they were asked to help design the movies.

Cor Blok's paintings also are interesting. They're not "realistic," but their colors and tone seem to capture the books.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable illustration book focusing on the various artist inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien. Along with featuring the written scenes to match the artwork. It was interesting to hear how they discovered the books and how each artist portrayed their versions of Middle-Earth.

[Conan The Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es como visitar una galería de arte.

Algunas obras muy buenas, otras no tanto, pero las que en verdad me parecieron horribles fueron las de un artista llamado Cor Blok, no puedo creer que a Tolkien le gustaran esos trabajos.

[Norbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some images I knew; some I didn't like.

Some are perfect

[Fionna Mccormick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice complement to the Middle Earth saga. My favourite image is of Treebeard by Alessandra Cimatoribus. Also in enjoyed the brief bios.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a gorgeous book! I especially love seeing some artists I'm unfamiliar with envision a scene or a character and how much it differs from another artist's work of the same subject.

[T.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely book of artists depictions of scenes from Tolkien’s work along side the words that inspired them.

[Osita Lectora PR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un hermoso libro llenos de escenas de Tolkien con unas imágenes preciosas.

[Martin Hrabal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustratons, even from authors unknown to me. Every page a masterpiece.

[Tina Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool illustrations and short bios of the artists who each love LOTR and bring their own creativity to capture the word pictures of Tolkien.

[Juan Sebastian Santacruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesante con estilos diversos y algunos de ellos especialmente espectaculares

[Patrick Axtell · Rating 5 out of 5]

good