Rinchenpong 1924

Nicholas Roerich made this landscape painting, Rinchenpong, with oils. It is full of mountains, stupas and clouds! The colors are muted with layers of whites, blues, and browns. Looking at this, I see an artist who is deeply moved by the landscape. The kind of person who gets up every morning to paint the mountains. I wonder if Roerich felt alone when painting, or if the landscape kept him company. Roerich uses these long horizontal brushstrokes to create a sense of movement in the sky. They are like fingers smearing paint across the canvas. It is a way of touching the landscape, and inviting it in. The materiality of painting is on full display here. Artists have conversations across time, inspiring each other’s creativity through brushstrokes! Painting is not about showing, but exploring and embracing ambiguity.