Tolkien Calendar 2011 will feature art by Cor Blok (23.01.10) - 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) we will get a very interesting new take on the Tolkien calendar 2011.

The official Tolkien calendar, this year will contain 13 paintings inspired by 'The Lord of the Rings', and will feature many previously unseen works of art by the Dutch artist, Cor Blok.

Cor Blok, now a retired Dutch professor in history of art, made more than 100 illustrations for The Lord of the Rings as a graduation project at his art college. This was in 1960 and 1961, so now over 50 years ago. His idea was a sort of Bayeux tapestry, including artificial aging. Painted on two pieces of rice paper, which were stuck together while wet.

His work is well-known in The Netherlands and Belgium because three of his paintings were on the first Dutch paperback edition of the Dutch translation of The Lord of the Rings, and were on the covers from 1965 up to 1979 (see the Dutch Tolkien Biography).
 Lord of the Rings cover by Cor Blok 1 Lord of the Rings cover by Cor Blok 2 Lord of the Rings cover by Cor Blok 3


Cor Blok was invited to visit J.R.R. Tolkien and Tolkien was so impressed by his work, that he bought 2 of paintings (and got a third one for free). Later Tolkien's daughter, Priscilla, bought two as well.
Cor Blok is the only artist still alive to have met J.R.R. Tolkien, and the only artist Tolkien admired enough to purchase some of his work.

Interview with Cor Blok

I'm extremely happy to publish 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.

All the paintings that will be shown in the Tolkien calendar 2011 are inspired by Tolkien's classic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings and were all completed during the early 1960s when the young artist was attempting to create a Bayeux tapestry approach to illustrating this monumental book. He will not be creating any new Lord of the Rings inspired art.

Many of this paintings included here 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.
 The Mumak of Harad by Cor Blok

Cor Blok art call for help

At the moment I'm trying to locate the current owners of Cor Blok Lord of the Rings paintings. Many of the art pieces by Cor Blok were sold in the 90's and I'm trying to build a complete overview of his art - so do you own a Cor Blok or know a person who owns a Cor Blok art work, please contact me at contact@tolkienlibrary.com. Many thanks for all help!


Tolkien Calendar 2011

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.

Title: Tolkien Calendar 2011  

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: 8 Jul 2010

Type: Calendar, 32 pages
ISBN-10: 0007351135
ISBN-13: 978-0007351138		 Tolkien Calendar by Cor Blok

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