Tolkien Calendar 2012 will feature art by Cor Blok (01.02.11 by Pieter Collier) - Comments

After the Tolkien calendar for The Lord of the Rings (2007), The Children of Hurin (2008) and The Silmarillion (2009) and The Lord of the Rings (2010), the 2011 Tolkien calendar featured the art by Cor Blok. Today I'm happy, and proud, to announce that next year will once again feature his art. The cover has been revealed today and it looks absolutely stunning!

The Official Tolkien Calendar 2012 features 13 paintings by the Dutch artist, Cor Blok.

Cor Blok is the only artist ever to have met JRR Tolkien, and the only artist Tolkien admired enough to purchase some of his work. Since the publication of the 2011 Cor Blok received a lot of attention and gained a lot of fans. The paintings are inspired by Tolkien’s classic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings and were completed during the early 1960s when the young artist was attempting to create a Bayeux tapestry approach to illustrating this monumental book.

Most of the paintings included have never been seen before. This delightful collection of scenes takes the reader on a unique journey through the beauty and drama of Middle-earth. It represents a truly charming addition to the series of official calendars by a gifted artist, and promises to be a memorable calendar for fans.

This news will come as another shock for many Tolkien fans, since some really could not really appreciate Cor Blok's art. Others will be very delighted to hear that soon they will have access to even more of his art. One must say, it has been a long time ago that so many 'talked' and even 'discussed' about the Tolkien Calendar. Much like The Lord of the Rings the art by Cor Blok is either liked immediatly or dismissed. For sure the Publishers took a great risk to stop the fine series of 'accepted' and 'well-known' Tolkien art and dared to show the other end of illustrating Middle-earth. For sure a lot of doors have opened now and I'm happy for all artists to see these calendars. Next to that it is perfect timing of course, it is exactly 50 years ago since Cor Blok made his 140 art pieces to accompany The Lord of the Rings. I have been so lucky to look at most of these works and I can already say the selection for the 2012 calendar is great and will surpass the 2011 calendar in quality! I believe the cover image already tells a lot! Isn't this an amazing piece of art?

Interview with Cor Blok

Most of you might have already read the following interview with the artist Cor Blok, where we talk about the art he created 50 years ago and we learn some more about this very talented and interesting person, but for those who did not read it I mention it once again!

Cor Blok art call for help

Tolkien Calendar 2012

The Tolkien Calendar has become an established publishing event, eagerly looked forward to by Tolkien fans the world over; there is much demand for the annual calendar, with Tolkien calendars from the past 30 years becoming collectors’ items.

This year’s continues in that tradition and is the perfect Christmas gift for lovers of fine fantasy art.

Enjoyed this post? Click to get the RSS feed.

Spread the news about this J.R.R. Tolkien article: