Ancient life 1904

Nicholas Roerich painted "Ancient Life" without a specific date, using what looks like tempera to create a moody landscape. The paint is applied in these thin, almost chalky layers, that give the whole thing a sort of matte, dreamlike quality. Look at the trees – they're like dark, flat shapes against the muted grays and browns of the sky and land. And that lone figure, is he looking out at the sea, or maybe into the past? There's this one little patch of lavender in the foreground that pops against everything else. It's like a tiny spark of color that kind of wakes you up. Roerich was really into the spiritual, and you can see that here. His contemporary, Marsden Hartley, was another painter drawn to landscapes with a mystical, melancholy air. But Roerich’s work has this extra layer of folklore and legend, which always leaves you with more questions than answers.