Scarlet Sails (Overseas guests) 1903

Nicholas Roerich, who was painting in the early to mid 20th century, made this painting with what looks like thin layers of paint. The crimson sails push forward, echoing one another, and the dark sea looks choppy, like it might swallow the ships whole. I imagine Roerich making this, maybe he was thinking about journeys, about crossing over, and what that feels like in your body. I bet he was thinking about other painters, too, and how they evoked feeling. I can see how Roerich built up this picture using color and form, like the curves of the boats meeting the triangular sails. The color is really doing so much work here. The ochres and reds give a feeling of warmth and maybe even hope. These artists are all in conversation, you know? Each one building on the ideas of the last, and that’s what makes painting so alive. It is an ongoing conversation about how to feel, how to see, and how to be in the world.