Picturing The Hobbit

With Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug a week away, the world is in a three-foot-high frenzy. Of course, The Hobbit has been inspiring artists and readers for generations. Artwise, I’ve always had a soft spot for The Hobbit; I love that it lends itself equally well to delightful and weighty interpretations. Below, let’s take a look at how just a few of the unofficial band of “Tolkien artists” have approached Bilbo’s story.

Above, The Battle of Five Armies by Justin Gerard.

[The Hobbit as depicted in art over the decades]