Street in front of castle 1913

This untitled painting of a ‘Street in front of castle’ was made by Nicholas Roerich sometime before 1947. Look at this dreamy blue scene! I can imagine Roerich layering on strokes of paint, each mark building up the mysterious atmosphere. I love how the blue palette gives everything this feeling of distance, like a memory or a dream. He's playing with shades of blue – from the soft, hazy sky to the solid, dark blues of the buildings. It makes me wonder if he was thinking about the symbolic power of color. Those looming shapes, they’re like thoughts that are almost there, almost graspable. Roerich invites us to wander through this scene. Artists, we're all just trying to figure things out, one painting at a time, in one big conversation with each other.