Nice essay. I especially liked this:

Sometimes I have a difficult time, when a familiar quotation is given as a prompt for a story or work of art. It can be difficult to separate the words out and look at them simply as beautiful language with dozens of possible meanings. This particular citation presented as inspiration involves Herman Melville’s ruminations about the beauty of the physical strength of the whale and how one cannot separate beauty and power.

Well said indeed.

I like where this quote took you and I like the artwork very much. 

Yoir subject here is dear to my heart. I have found it fascinating how much focus there is on Maedhros' appearance in the Silmarillion--his names, descriptions of him. It is multifaceted, as his beauty is physical but is also of the spirit--and he shows that cannot be overpowered, even in the depths of Angband or cliffs of Thangorodrim.