Temple of Tripura Sundari 1932

Nicholas Roerich painted this Temple of Tripura Sundari with a really interesting colour scheme. I mean, look at all those violets and lavenders! I like how Roerich handles his materials here. There's a texture that comes through, a kind of visible brushwork that suggests a quick, intuitive process. It is as though the paint is being scrubbed into the surface. See those lines in the mountain, how they build up to give a sense of depth and grandeur, but never feel overworked? What I enjoy about this piece, and Roerich's work more generally, is the way it balances representation with abstraction. It reminds me a bit of Marsden Hartley's landscapes, where the physical world is distilled into simplified, almost geometric forms. This piece isn't trying to capture a specific location but offers an invitation into a mood, a feeling, or a state of mind. Isn't that what painting is all about?