Joel Merriner Profile picture
Oct 12, 2022 25 tweets 14 min read Read on X
Ever had that feeling where a picture reminds you of a favourite #Tolkien character? Well, I have, and I cordially invite you to hitch a ride on the MEGA-THREAD that is Pictures that Should Have Been Tolkienian. Btw, is that Gandalf? No, sorry it's Georg von Rosen's Odin (1886)
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins prepares a letter of complaint to Sharkey, whilst the late Otho looks on... No, sorry, this is Portrait of Lady Dacre (c 1555-1558) by Tudor-gentry-loving Flemish allegorical painter Hans Eworth #Tolkien
The Black Riders kick back post-Weathertop. No, sorry, this is the Dance of Death by Michael Wolgemut (c. 1493) Featured in Hartman Schedel's Nuremburg Chronicle, this charming little woodcut conjures the horrors of the Black Death. complete with Satanic snakes #Tolkien
"Are there no leeches among you?" Imrahil spots that Éowyn isn't dead, as inattentive Rohirrim look on. No, sorry, this Valkyrie's Death (1880) by Norwegian mythological painter Peter Nicolai Arbo (1831-1892). Nice helmet Imrahil, but where's your vambrace? #Tolkien
A Silent Watcher guards the entrance to Cirith Ungol.
No, sorry, that single head is a big no-no. Actually, this is Resistance, or The Black Idol (1903) by Orphic cubist and symbolist František Kupka. Based on the Colossi of Memnon, but with a Bram Stoker vibe #Tolkien
Saruman sulks in Orthanc, post Treebeard. No, sorry, this is the Venerable Luke the Stylite, as featured in the famous manuscript Menologion Basileios' II (circa 1000). Famed for sitting on top of a pillar for 45 years, Luke preferred a quiet life, free from drama #Tolkien
"Shall I, shan't I..." Aulë dithers over creating the Dwarves. No, sorry this is Portrait of Andrea Odoni (1527) by Venetian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto. Odoni was a wealthy merchant and collector of classical art, hence the assorted naked artefacts #Tolkien
Beorn? No, sorry, this is Bear Shaman, a stunning soapstone carving by Abraham Anghik Ruben. Here, the Inuit Shaman assumes the shape of a bear, becoming a mediator between human, animal and spirit worlds. His upright stance and curious expression are especially charming #Tolkien
Beren and Lúthien hitch a ride on Huan. No, sorry, this is Ivan Tsarevich on the Grey Wolf (1889) by Russian mythological and historical painter Vikto Vasnetsov (1848-1926). Here the Wolf carries Tsarevich and his bride-to-be Elena Prekrasnaya through the forest #Tolkien
Frodo tests out his Elven cloak. No, sorry, this is Rembrandt’s Son Titus in a Monk’s Habit (1660) by Rembrandt van Rijn. Here the artist utilises tenebrism, a deep form of chiaroscuro designed to channel your eye to heart of the Hobbit, I mean painting #Tolkien
Bilbo meets William Huggins. No, sorry this is Norwegian folk hero Espen Askeladd facing down a troll by artist Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914). Bravely our hero produces a piece of cheese in the guise of a stone, crushes it and threatens his foe with a similar fate #Tolkien
"A parrot, in Bree?" Frodo and Strider debate ornithology in the Prancing Pony. No, sorry, this Jim Hawkins, Long John Silver and Captain Flint (c. 1911) by Golden Age illustrator N. C. Wyeth. Direct and immediate, Wyeth hits home with his restricted palette #Tolkien
It's official, Balrogs do not have wings - Gothmog prepares his mates for battle. No, sorry, these are demons from the 15th c. manual Le Livre de la Vigne nostre Seigneur. A chilling account of the end of the world, this book portrays the horrors which await the damned #Tolkien
Sauron stokes the fire in the Sammath Naur. No, sorry this is Heat of the Earth (1918) by Russian symbolist painter and wanderer Nicholas Roerich. Steeped in apocrypha and dripping with weirdness, Roerich's imagery conjures all manner of strangeness #Tolkien
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins finally gets a look at the Red Book of Westmarch. No, hang on, this is Rembrandt's Mother Reading (circa 1629) by the Dutch master himself. Note the liquid manner in which the old Hobbit, sorry, I mean woman, emerges from her tenebrous backdrop #Tolkien
Second Age Sauron checks Celebrimbor's ingots. No, sorry, this is The Antiquary (1855) by American history, religious and genre painter Edwin White. Probably best known for his Orientalist take on historical moments and characters, White is a largely forgotten man today #Tolkien
Beren catches Lúthien reading instead of dancing. No, sorry, this The Beguiling of Merlin (c. 1872-1877) by Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones. Here, the eponymous wizard gets snagged on some thorns as snake-haired Nimue runs through her spells #Tolkien
Sauron and Morgoth strike a pose for sad-boy Manwë.
No, sorry this is 1980s Goth ancients Patricia Morrison and Andrew Eldritch of The Sisters of Mercy planning Dominion over all back-combed black hair. #Tolkien
Finwë and his sons contemplate family dynamics. No, sorry, this is British goth pioneers Bauhaus photographed by Graham Trott circa 1979. Bela Lugosi's dead and Finwë's on the left, but the question is...which one is Fëanor? #Tolkien
Gandalf catches up on his correspondence. No, sorry, this a portrait of the author Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy by an anonymous late 19th century Russian artist. Discovered in the State Central Literary Museum, Moscow this oil on canvas exhibits a fine painterly touch #Tolkien
Thranduil spotted alone in Mirkwood. No, sorry, this is Dante lost in a gloomy wood (c. 1861) from the illustrated Inferno by painter, illustrator and comic-book pre-shadower Gustav Doré. "In the midway of this our mortal life, I found me in a gloomy wood, astray." Ok... #Tolkien
Young Smaug at home. No, sorry, this is Mountain Dragons of British Colombia (1977) by British fantasy/sci fi illustrator Patrick Woodroffe. Pre the CGI revolution, Woodroffe's paintings and Tomographs blurred the boundaries between real and unreal #Tolkien
Missing blue wizard Pallando pours out the moonshine while Alatar nips outside for a smoke. No, sorry this is the Astrologer by N C Wyeth, as featured in Albert Paine and Frederick Duneka's 1916 rehashing of Mark Twain's The Mysterious Stranger #Tolkien
Galadriel checks her other mirror. ANo, sorry, this is Girl in Mirror (1964) by popart pioneer Roy Lichenstein. A portrait viewed via a distorting lens, Lichenstein's picture subverts the aspirational imagery of 50s-60s Lórien, I mean America #Tolkien
Well, folks, hope you've enjoyed (or at least endured) our little trip into the parallel world of my #Tolkien brain. If you know me already or if you're new to my ramblings, thanks for stopping by, and as Sauron, sorry Michael Palin, once remarked to Gil-galad and Elendil -"Ni!"

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More from @JoelMerriner

Sep 21, 2022
So, on this day in 1937 The #Hobbit (see #Tolkien cover below👇) was published. To mark this auspicious occasion, I present an old thread newly entitled 'My Top 10 (Not Quite Definitive) Favourite (Mostly Published) Illustrations of Hobbits (And Not Just Bilbo) Ever (Almost)'... Image
First up and holding fast at No.10 is the #Hobbit that inspired my first ever oil painting - Michael Hague's Bilbo from Riddles in the Dark (1984). My own version featured the same red waistcoat, the same green cloak, but, sadly, not the same artistic skill #Tolkien (1/10) Image
And jumping two places to No.9 we have not one #Hobbit but a whole Shire-full of them in Lidia Postma's subtle exploration of light and mood - No Admittance Except on Party Business (1997). A bonus point for spotting Bilbo's guest Dwarves in their white party hats #Tolkien (2/10) Image
Read 11 tweets
Jun 1, 2022
In 1976 "Plop!", DC's oddly titled "New Magazine of Weird Humour" published a #LOTR parody by comic hero Wally Wood entitled "The King of the Ring". It was short, sweet with excellent retro art and jokes which verge from great to awful. Sit back and enjoy (kind of) (1) #Tolkien Image
Page 1 kicks off with Gondeaf the wizard arriving at the Georgian-styled home of Froydo the "Habbit". Notice how 1960s hippy favourite Wood is still down with the kids with his anachronistic use of "Gee whizz!" and "Wow!". The pizza joke is still pretty good though (2) #Tolkien Image
Page 2 introduces the Ring in excellent style ("if you became evil...it wouldn't matter!") and gives us an added poke at Disney in the shape of a Hobbit/Fellowship mash-up version of the Seven Dwarfs. There's also Snyder, an incognito Strider lookalike in shades (3) #Tolkien Image
Read 7 tweets
Jul 12, 2021
#Tolkien & Art MEGA THREAD alert!
Ever get that feeling where a picture reminds you of a fave #LOTR character? Well, if you've follow me you'll know its a little obsession of mine. So tonight, hitch a ride on the eagle that is Pictures that Should Have Been Tolkienian (Gandalf?)
A Silent Watcher guards the entrance to Cirith Ungol.
No sorry, that single head is a no-no. Actually this is Resistance, or The Black Idol (1903) by Orphic cubist and symbolist František Kupka. Based on the Colossi of Memnon, but with a Bram Stoker vibe #Dracula #Tolkien
The Black Riders kick back post-Weathertop. No, sorry, this is the Dance of Death by Michael Wolgemut (c. 1493) Featured in Hartman Schedel's Nuremburg Chronicle, this charming little #woodcut conjures the horrors of the Black Death. complete with Satanic snakes #art #Tolkien
Read 25 tweets
Apr 28, 2021
#Tolkien illustration MEGA-THREAD Alert!
Lately I've been on a visual odyssey, happily tweeting key #LotR moments as depicted by two different illustrators. I'm not finished yet (haven't even reached Mordor) but have a look at the journey so far...
(Image: Roger Garland c.1987)
As a little thank you to all the kind souls who have borne my ramblings to the verge of 1000 followers I present a whistle stop visual tour of #LotR
Same scene/two artists - first up Gandalf arrives in Hobbiton by Michael Kaluta (c. 1993) and Sergei Iukhimov (1991) #Tolkien
Part 2 of our whistle-stop visual tour through #LotR taking in key scenes by different illustrators. Tonight we happen upon Bilbo's Long-expected Party, first as a Breughel-esque character study by Inger Edelfeldt (1983) then a painterly mood piece by Lidia Postma (1997) #Tolkien
Read 21 tweets

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