Tibet. Monastery Gelug-pa. 1936

Nicholas Roerich painted “Tibet. Monastery Gelug-pa” with what looks like tempera or pastels, creating a world washed in sunset. The marks feel immediate, direct, like he wanted to get the image down fast. The colors here are everything, aren’t they? Roerich layers shades of dusky rose, lavender, and peach, building a solid geometric landscape with soft edges. It’s like the landscape itself is exhaling color. The paint application looks dry, chalky, giving it a kind of earthly texture that makes me want to touch it. Look at the horizon line, where the mountains meet the sky, that fuzzy edge gives the impression of depth and distance. It reminds me a little bit of Marsden Hartley’s landscapes. Both artists use color to evoke a sense of place, but where Hartley is bold, Roerich is more subtle, more dreamy, suggesting how art can be an invitation to meditation and quiet contemplation.