Lonely stranger 1931

Nicholas Roerich painted 'Lonely Stranger,' sometime in his career, with what looks like tempera or gouache on board. The colours feel symbolic, the strong yellow sky, the shifting blues of the mountains, with the lone figure centre stage. Roerich isn’t trying to trick us with fancy perspective, instead we get these layers of flat colour building a landscape of the mind, perhaps. Look how the mountains fade into one another, they’re not solid, more like thoughts or memories. The surface has a slight texture, but it's mostly smooth, making the colours pop even more. What I find interesting is the mix of precision and looseness; the horizon is a sharp line, but the mountains have a softer, feathered quality. This contrast makes me think about how we try to define things, but life is always a bit blurry around the edges. It reminds me a little of Milton Avery's simplified forms and colour choices. Just like Avery, Roerich finds a way to turn simple shapes into something deeply evocative.