Sanctuaries and Citadels 1925

Nicholas Roerich made this painting, Sanctuaries and Citadels, with what looks like tempera or maybe thin oils – a mix of earth tones contrasting with cool, lavender mountains. You can almost feel the sun beating down on that ochre hillside! I imagine Roerich, squinting a little, trying to capture the light. He must have been thinking about the spiritual qualities of these landscapes. I mean, look at how the paint's applied – broad, flat areas of color. The paint isn’t overworked, and there’s something really powerful about that restraint. The sharp edges and geometric forms are so interesting, especially when contrasted with the hazy, almost dreamlike rendering of the mountains. You could compare it to some early modernist landscape painters, but Roerich brings a totally unique mysticism to the canvas. It’s like he’s not just painting what he sees, but trying to express what he feels in the presence of these monumental places. And in that way, every painting is just an artist passing on inspiration and ideas through time.