Buried treasures 1917

Nicholas Roerich's “Buried Treasures” is a painting that really gets under my skin, with its warm palette and textured surface inviting you to slow down. The painting's about this rosy-pink dreamscape, but it's the application of the paint that grabs me. You can see Roerich layering colors, scumbling them together, so the mountains look almost like they're breathing. There's this sense of the artist feeling his way through the landscape. Like he's not just depicting it, but becoming part of it. There's a dark shape in the foreground, like a sentinel, contrasting against the lighter pinks. It's a brilliant move, as it anchors the composition and adds a layer of mystery. This painting reminds me a bit of Hilma af Klint, in that there's a mystical quality, but it's Roerich's rugged brushwork that brings it down to earth, or rather, up to the mountains. Art is always an ongoing dialogue, right? And this piece is a beautiful, ambiguous statement in that conversation.