On the Doorstep (Hobbit) 

Alan Lee created this watercolor illustration, "On the Doorstep (Hobbit)", to accompany J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel. Lee's work, produced in England, revives the aesthetics of Romanticism, a Northern European movement that valorized the solitary individual's confrontation with sublime, overwhelming nature. We see this influence in the tiny figures dwarfed by massive, craggy mountains. In Tolkien’s book, the mountain represents a barrier to be overcome, yet its very existence enables the quest. Like the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century, Lee’s art represents an attempt to return to a pre-industrial world, one in which individuals still possessed agency and adventure, in which nature was not yet dominated by technology. The study of Romanticism involves understanding its historical context, researching its key figures, and analyzing its relationship to broader social and political movements. Understanding the historical contexts helps us to decipher the meaning and significance of art.