Pabo

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/36744357

Many people seem familiar with Lord of the Rings via the Jackson movies, but there's a much longer tradition of artists depicting scenes from the books. Plus of course, two TV / movie series that bring some great voicework & songs (Rankin-Bass' version) and fascinating animation (Ralph Bakshi's), despite their overall flaws.

But in terms of alternate illustrators, check out the Brothers Hildebrandt, for example.

Personally, I'm enjoying this Argentinian master's version because the characters are no longer as wholesome-looking as in other depictions, giving the scene slight horror overtones. The ammonite is a nice bonus, too!

Some more Chichoni art here:
https://lemm.ee/post/27712402

Although I also really like the Alan Lee/movies art style, having alternative ways to visualize such an immense world is wonderful. The Hildebrandt brothers' illustrations especially have a more medieval, almost naive touch to them that I think lends itself well to fairy tales.

Theoden's redemption arc across the second and third movie was one of the most fascinating side-stories for me, and Bernard Hill portrayed him in all stages brilliantly with range and nuance.

May he rest in peace.

On occasion of yesterday's leap day, I remembered that Tolkien had devised his own calendar system, called Shire-reckoning, that I find very elegant.

Compared to our own calendar system it is more consistent and easier to memorize, since it maintains the same number of days in each month (and the Hobbits even managed to have a consistent weekday for any given day of the year), thanks to special days that are not assigned to a specific month. On leap years such as 2024, another such special day is inserted in mid-summer; so in a few months we'll have a so-called "Overlithe" in the middle of the Yule festival. Apart from its simplicity and elegance, this also seems like something a Hobbit's mind would come with - solving a problem by having one more day of festivals.