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TurnerMohan — The Choices Of Master Samwise
#frodo #samwise #cirithungol #hobbit #lotrfanart #lotrlordoftherings
Published: 2014-10-10 09:08:19 +0000 UTC; Views: 11716; Favourites: 142; Downloads: 96
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"Good-bye, master, my dear!' he murmured. 'Forgive your Sam. He'll come back to this spot when the job's done if he manages it. And then he'll not leave you again. Rest you quiet till I come; and may no foul creature come anigh you! And if the Lady could hear me and give me one wish, I would wish to come back and find you again. Good-bye!"--TTT
what can I say about this scene. When I first read the Lord of the Rings I cried my eyes out at this part, not so much for Frodo's apparent death (although certainly that was part of it) as for Sam; his master and great friend, who took on this great task and terrible burden, is killed unexpectedly, shockingly, tragically, and against all his natural humility, self-degradation and devotion to Frodo, it falls on him, the last of the company, to go on through mordor, hopeless, heartbroken and alone, and see the quest to completion. there's something particularly painful to me about Sam's quiet, dutiful resolve, once he's completed the task and effectively delivered the people of middle-earth from sauron's evil, to return to that horrible place presumably just to lay down and die beside Mr Frodo. It was such an impacting death scene (made all the more so, somehow, by the actual death happening entirely "off screen" and not being realized until after this major action scene) and transferring of main-character-status from Frodo to Sam that a part of me wonders if Tolkien didn't ultimately kinda screw up in pulling the whole "he's not really dead" trick (I have a creeping suspicion George RR Martin has wondered the same thing) It's also a moment that has been almost entirely overlooked by illustrators and fan artists in favor of the much more action-driven battle with the giant spider immediately preceding it, though, being a life-long hardcore arachnophobe, I don't think that one's in the cards for me.
the scored rock surfaces, eaten out by centuries of exposure to shelob's poisonous bile, were taken directly from john howe, but i didn't want the piece to get cluttered up with details of webbing or the horrific refuse of shelob's feeding. the scene as I always envisioned it was very funereal, sacred almost; as if somehow the frantic terror of the moment before has given way to a calm, and suddenly the place doesn't seem quite so bad.
sorry about the long absence all y'all, I promise I'll be posting more regularly again (oh yeah, and I'm painting now, Booyah!)
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Comments: 34
im guessing that even if he had decided on having frodo actually being killed, there is the simple fact that sams journey through mordor alone, would have been way less interesting to read about than sam and frodo's journey together. though, i guess there might have been something to it, if we never actually learned anything about the journey, and we simply march on to the black gate, wondering if sam really did make it through mordor. only to learn that yes, he did. and then just leaving it up to some tolkien wordplay to sell of what a feat it really was for him to make the journey to the mount doom alone and heartbreakingly his own master.
it'dd be way more deus ex machina, but it wouldnt have been impossible to sell.
really, i think this was the best chapter title tolkien ever had. we know so much about sam(he's easily the most fleshed out of the fellowship) that the simple fact that its titled Master Samwise, tells us just how much sam was defined by his loyalty and what a sad, alien concept it is for him to truely be his own master. for most people/characters, the idea of being your own master, is one of the most natural assumptions in the world. sure, you might not be king, but as Martin says, "everyone is the hero of their own story".
Sam though, really isnt. he doesnt want to be. more than anything, he considers for himself that his role in life to be an extention of frodo's journey. thats his lot in life, and unlike a lot of other fantasy stories relationships between master and servant, there isnt anything hovering over samvise head to compell him to do this. he's not bound by any feudal oaths(like say, the reed twins are to brandon stark) nor does he have any deep personal reasons to see this journey through to the end(no more than any other random person that ever stood against sauron anyhow). he's here because his master, and friend Frodo, the person he considers to be the greatest in the world, wanted to do this journey. He knows, accepts and is unflinching in his assumption that this is frodo's journey and that his role is simply to help him reach the end.
loyal and true, to the bitter end.
and then its ripped away from him in a horribly cruel way, leaving him all alone in the world. samvise, who very much did not consider himself the hero of any story much less the most important story of the third age, is suddenly forced to accept that he, without any wish for it is suddenly the hero of this story. and that the supposed real hero, that he loved and followed, is no more.
That is a really powerfull scene, that is built upon eveythign we ever learned about sam and what kind of person he is.
in fact, i think this might have made me way more accepting of the eagles flying to mount doom to save the ringbearer. immagine, if we after sam is rescued, we eventually end up in a scene were sam and the fellowship return to where frodo was killed.
and he finds... Nothing.
that... might actually have been even sadder than if this death scene really did end with frodo really dying.
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Actually, Bilbo was wrapped in the spider's webbing in this scene!
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Actually bilbo was several thousand miles away taking a nap
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HA! No, I recall the book quite clearly...and I've lost track of how many times I've read it all the way through
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you might not want to boast about how many times you've read the book considering you have Bilbo and Frodo confused, which is about as basic as it gets, but since you seem to have forgotten, it's clearly stated in the two towers that Sam cuts the chords off of Frodo and composes his body, funeral style, before leaving him. There is in fact a mistake in my painting, the staff given to him by Faramir that's supposed to be laid at Frodo's side is missing, I left it out for the sake of the composition, but I'll leave it to more astute readers to catch me on that.
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Ah! Thanks for reminding me. Last time I read it was 2009.
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I love the technique here. the small and meticulous detail like the white highlits. Howe's influence shows of course, but the skill and feeling here are just superb! Tell me, did you used some dry watercolour pencils over the dri ink for the background highlights like above frodo's feet and head or is it another technique?
Another big one that I missed! I love this one!
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those lighter areas in the background were the result of me wetting down those areas and dabbing them off with a paper towel after a few seconds, which lifts soe of the paint. i would also add some water to them midway through doing a wash of color, which forces the paint particles out and helps create that soft lighting effect (it's a technique i'm a long way off from perfecting) the pure white highlights were achieved by scraping the surface of the paper with an exacto knife, a technique Howe often employs.
glad you like it!
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Thanks a lot man. I think I got it! i'll try something like this later.
You got very nice results here. i love it.
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Very nice, I really like the details and the technique
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This is the last scene of note in TTT and the most touching. Even after all these years it never fails to move me deeply. After 2 volumes' worth of story detailing Sam as Frodo's loyal shadow, Tolkien has him forced to move on, to complete the Quest. At that point it's meant to be the last duty to the dead, bookending Aragorn's decision to pursue the orc-raid instead of following Frodo and Sam. Boy, the last few pages were hard to complete that fist reading...and then in the next to last page Tolkien dropped the bomb.
It's OK if you skipped the battle with Shelob. Many other artists have tackled the subject and done well. No need to put yourself through the wringer for a few compliments! I am not an arachnophobe, but for me the blind stumbling about in Torech Ungol with the dread knowledge of something out there in the utter darkness is Tolkien's supreme moment of pre-modern horror. Fortunately for his fans Tolkien never detailed Nan Dungortheb; the idea of "Cirith Ungol x 100" probably sent many fans skimming the text to the next paragraph!
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Magnificent work Master Mohan! I must say that the recent development in your already-marvellous skills has left me gibbering with glee at the prospect of forthcoming glories.
I must say that I share your opinion about Mr Martin's attitudes to Professor Tolkien's relatively modest body-count when it comes to the 'Resurrection' of Mister Baggins the Younger, but quite frankly there's a good reason that I enjoy 'The Lord of the Rings' where I merely admire 'A Song of Ice and Fire' so I think you may guess why I'm rather more fond of the former than the latter (as you may also have noted I'm so sure of Mr Martin's general attitude to character-killing that I can hardly describe my belief as anything so ambiguous as a 'Suspicion').
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well i definitely enjoy myself some ASOIAF, not least because of martin's willingness to kill off some characters, but that isnt the kind of story tolkien was telling (really theoden and denethor were the most notable casualties in the war of the ring, and boromir ofcourse)
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I agree wholeheartedly, not least with the unstated truth that both approaches have proper place in fiction (even when I do prefer the one approach to the other - mostly because it's a bit of a pain to follow a plot when one doesn't have an agreeable protagonist to share the journey!).
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I will never forgive them/him(haven't read the books) for killing Ned Stark... Best fictional man of the 21th century!
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insert "one does not simply" joke here:
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He's certainly one of the best, I could not possibly disagree with you there.
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Beautiful work and altogether fitting for such an important part of LotR. The colors give it an Alan Lee-like feel, but without the characters looking so gaunt as he draws them. I look forward to more of your great work, especially the paintings.
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i don't know why exactly alan draws everybody, even hobbits, as these spindly legged creatures, just a stylistic choice i guess. thank you, glad to hear you like it
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Maybe he's projecting himself on his drawings? : P
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yeah, i definitely think that's true, that an artist is usually their own most frequent figure model and so a good amount of their own physicality finds its way into their work. Supposedly frank frazetta was a very powerful, physical guy, and it not only shows in his figures themselves but in the overall energy of his work. alan lee by contrast seems like a very gentle, light-touch kind of a person
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So nice to see you back to activity Turner. I can completely commiserate with the abscence as I have also been gone for the summer just trying to stay afloat creatively and physically(don't do well in the heat). I must say that you are enjoying an initial appretiation among the group over at the Middle Earth Ranger Forum! I and a few others spread some pictures and some links about and we are all buzzing about your artistic enterpretation and skill as concerns middle earth. Please do come visit sometime, we would so enjoy calling you brother if you enjoyed our group.(I even adopted your Dwarven Smith as my Avatar!)
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This is such an emotional scene in the book and makes me love Sam all the more! Sam is such an amazing character, so rich. Though I am glad Frodo survived, I loved seeing Sam take up the burden for the love of his Master/Friend...willing to complete the task, though it didn't seem to him he could. A true hero indeed! Love your vision of this scene...fits it perfectly!
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This is great, one can really feel the atmosphere. I like Sam and his sense of duty.
And paintings sounds very interesting, looking forward to see what crazy ideas you have
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Amazing. I absolutely love the background, how you've painted the rock wall behind them. That is not an easy task to paint.
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