Krishna. Magic flute. 1938

Nicholas Roerich made this painting, 'Krishna. Magic flute', with cool blues, purples and whites. I can imagine Roerich layering these shades to render the mighty forms of the Himalayas in simplified geometric planes, like stacked cardboard. The peaks almost look like folded paper. I wonder if he saw them that way too? And then there's Krishna himself. How Roerich positions him against those monumental peaks suggests a harmony between the human and the divine, the earthly and the cosmic. It's all very Theosophical, right? The flute seems to be emanating a silent harmony that reverberates through the majestic setting, connecting the earthly to the ethereal, the flute to the mountains. Roerich invites us to contemplate the interconnectedness of all things. And that is something many artists have been concerned with.