Milarepa's cave 1931

Nicholas Roerich made *Milarepa's Cave,* using oil on canvas, and I see in it these angular mountains capped with snow, rendered in cool blues and earthy browns. I can imagine Roerich approaching the canvas, maybe starting with a light sketch, then building up layers of paint, each stroke defining the peaks and valleys. I wonder what he was thinking, painting these mountains—maybe a sense of awe at their scale, or a connection to the spiritual significance of the cave itself, a sacred place of meditation. The paint looks applied in thin washes, allowing the texture of the canvas to show through, giving the mountains a kind of breath. Each diagonal stroke feels deliberate, like a conscious effort to simplify and abstract the landscape. Roerich reminds me a little bit of other artists, like Lawren Harris, who were also painting landscapes with a spiritual bent. All these painters are in an ongoing conversation, interpreting the world around them and finding new ways to express it on canvas. Painting becomes a form of embodied expression, embracing ambiguity and inviting multiple interpretations.