Oxonmoot 2024

After travelling (almost as extensively as Strider) in the landscapes of Middle-earth in the Third Age, Alan Lee made forays in the First Age too, exploring the worlds of Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien, and Fall of Gondolin. Finally, Alan Lee has visited the Second Age, making Numenor come alive with his agile brush-strokes in the Fall of Numenor. 
This paper will explore the architectural elements of Numenor, and how they relate to the First and Third Ages (as well as to ancient Egypt, if at all). Certain facets will be compared or contrasted to his works in other books too, establishing his experience and dexterity in world-building, and myth-making.
 
It’s interesting to see how Alan Lee revisits certain places such as the mines of Moria or Barad-dûr from a different angle in the Second Age, after having created it for the Third Age (including for the LOTR trilogy in the early 2000s). The cover reveals a critical and poignant moment in the fall of Numenor, with nature and the seascape playing an integral role in the visual story. For those unfamiliar with the story, the first question that arises is: why did this destruction take place? Also, did all the Numenorians deserve destruction on such a massive scale? This painting shows the power of the Valar and of nature, which seems to be alive in his paintings. Alan Lee’s settings are also mood-scapes, reflecting back the inner landscapes of the humans inhabiting these sites.