Jerusalem 1909

Nicholas Roerich made this drawing of Jerusalem with graphite on paper. Looking at this artwork, I can almost feel the soft drag of the graphite, how Roerich used a range of marks to define the architectural forms and to capture the atmosphere. I can imagine him, eyes squinting, holding the paper, thinking through the shapes. Roerich was interested in spiritual and mystical themes, and you can see this in the way he’s rendered the architecture, giving it an almost dreamlike quality, a mix of realism and something otherworldly. It’s fascinating how simple the means are, just pencil on paper, but how much is communicated. The artist gives us these rounded turrets, and they remind me of the Russian Constructivists. There’s something enduring about pencil drawings; they continue to inspire. It’s as if artists are constantly revisiting and reimagining the potential of the medium. Each drawing is like a conversation, echoing through time.