White Stone (Sign of Cintamani or Horse of happiness) 1933

This painting of a carved stone in the mountains was made by Nicholas Roerich. The pigments are earthy, in muted browns, oranges, and blues, and feel as though they were mixed directly from the soil and rocks depicted. Look at how Roerich painted the horse. It’s as though he channeled the ancient hands that first chiseled images into stone. I wonder if he felt a connection to those long-ago artists, a shared desire to capture the essence of the natural world? Did he imagine them struggling with the same challenges of representation, the same yearning to communicate something profound through their work? The crude geometry of the mountains reminds me of Cezanne, and all those artists who have tried to capture the weight and stillness of mountains. Artists are always in conversation with each other, across time and space. This piece reminds us that art isn't just about what we see, but how we feel, how we connect to each other and to the world around us.