Mekheski - Moon People 1915

Nicholas Roerich created "Mekheski - Moon People" using paint on canvas. The colours are pretty dark, but there is such a variety of blues, greens and earth tones that it's easy to get lost in the painting process just looking at the colours. The surface of the painting seems pretty flat, which is great because it makes the colours more intense. It is a bit like looking at a tapestry or a very large and detailed illustration from a story book. The clouds in the night sky feel as solid as the buildings in the foreground. What would it be like to sit on top of one of those buildings and watch the moon? Roerich was interested in folklore, and the symbolism in this painting is similar to that in other works of his that depict landscapes with figures and mythical elements. It has the simple graphic impact of early modernist painting, like that of Edvard Munch.