10

I noticed this and it troubles me because it was a (somewhat inaccurate) painting of Isildur vs Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance. In The Hobbit, when Bilbo is wandering about Rivendell by his lonesome, he comes across it and its colored and everything, but in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring it is faded to greyish and kinda dull colored.

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    I'm pretty sure it is intentional because Rivendell (and the elves in general) are waning during LOTR but not so much during The Hobbit. AFAIK this is discussed in the extensive documentary videos that come with the extended editions.
    – mu is too short
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 4:17
  • I agree with @muistooshort: out of universe the different color grading symbolizes a different phase in the history of the elves, while in universe it is due to different lighting conditions, as explained by Jason Baker in his answer.
    – lfurini
    Commented Dec 23, 2015 at 13:23
  • @mu is too short The Elves were waning just as much during the Hobbit as Lord of the Rings. As far as the history of Middle Earth goes, not much time passed between them and nothing significant changed for the Elves.
    – suchiuomizu
    Commented Sep 13, 2019 at 4:35

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
32

It's just the light

Here's a better image of the mural, taken from the Return of the King extended edition special features1, where you can clearly see it in full colour:

enter image description here

Consider this still from Fellowship of the Ring, when Boromir is looking at the painting:

enter image description here

It's faint, but there is colour there; there's some yellow in the bottom-right corner.

Compare the above image to this one, from An Unexpected Journey:

enter image description here

In particular, consider the right-hand edge of the painting, where the shadows are covering it.

Both paintings are clearly in colour, but in Fellowship of the Ring we only see it under low light, making it appear more blueish.

1 A gallery of the Rivendell murals was one of the exclusive online content features on the EE DVD. The online content is now defunct, but Magpie, a user on TheOneRing.net forums, archived the murals on Picasa; may Eru bless you, Magpie

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    I agree, I think it's a matter of both time and date: Bilbo's stroll around Rivendell happens on the morning / early afternoon of a summer day, while Boromir's scene is set in winter, apparently in the evening / night. The only real difference is the presence of the One Ring on Sauron's finger, wich was added when the set was rebuilt to shoot The Hobbit (illustrator / designer Alan Lee painted the original image, and years later added the ring to it; source: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey extras, somewhere in the extended edition).
    – lfurini
    Commented Dec 23, 2015 at 13:09
  • Add to that he natural fading of sixty years worth of exposure to sunlight (as noted in M.A. Goulding’s answer below), and the difference will likely be even more pronounced.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Mar 27, 2016 at 10:02
1

Possibly the painting was new in An Unexpected Journey but years or decades older in Fellowship of the Ring and thus much more faded.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    Sixty years is a short time for a picture (be it on wall, or plank, or canvas) to degrade to the point of losing all colour :-), especially if it was made by the elves (who should be experts at making lasting things), and even more especially in Rivendell, where the power of one of the Three is at work.
    – lfurini
    Commented Dec 23, 2015 at 13:18

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.