Krishna 1936

Nicholas Roerich made this painting, Krishna, with what looks like tempera, a medium which gives the colours a powdery, soft, and chalky feeling. Imagine Roerich layering these colours, one over the other, building up the mountain ranges in a play of blues, purples, and ochres, all under a hazy sky. I can almost feel the texture, the slight drag of the pigment on the board, each stroke deliberate yet yielding to the overall composition. What was he thinking when he juxtaposed the flatness of the picture plane with the depth of the mountains? Roerich was deeply invested in spiritual and mystical themes, particularly those related to Eastern philosophies. These theosophical ideas are translated through colour and form, connecting him to other painters, like Kandinsky and Kupka who sought to express spiritual realities through abstraction. Just as musicians riff on melodies, artists riff on the colours and forms of those who came before. It's an ongoing dialogue, and each artist adds their own verse.