Daughters of Earth 1919

Nicholas Roerich's "Daughters of Earth" is held at the Rose Art Museum and was painted with oil on canvas. I imagine Roerich, brush in hand, wrestling with the essence of the earth, conjuring these sturdy, monumental forms. He’s pushing around greens and blues, am I right? Look at the rugged mountains framing that otherworldly sky, like nature's own cathedral. It reminds me a bit of Marsden Hartley’s landscapes or maybe even some of those early modernist stage designs—a simplified, almost theatrical space. Those figures huddled together, maybe they’re sharing secrets or just trying to stay warm, who knows? Each brushstroke, each color choice, feels like a deliberate step in a dance between the artist and the canvas. The paint isn’t trying to trick you; it's there, present, part of the whole story. I often think artists are magpies, borrowing and stealing and transforming what they find into something new.