Buddha the Winner 1925

This painting, Buddha the Winner, by Nicholas Roerich, is a scene built with yellows, blues, and greens that seem to drip and flow like honey. I imagine Roerich, standing before his canvas, the smell of oil paint filling the air, stepping back to look at the work in progress and stepping forward to make another mark. Look at the way the stalactites and stalagmites reach up and down and all around. I wonder if he was thinking about the weight of stone versus the weightlessness of enlightenment? I imagine the artist wanted to conjure a space for contemplation and reverence. The seated Buddha is a point of stillness in the center, amidst all these geological forms. It reminds me that artists are always in conversation with each other, building on the ideas and innovations of those who came before, each adding their unique voice to the ongoing dialogue of art. It’s a lineage, a community, a beautiful mess of influences.