Himalayas. Snowy peaks. 1942

Nicholas Roerich made these Himalayas, Snowy Peaks using what looks like tempera, or maybe pastel, and it's all about how the mark repeats, like a landscape made of echoes. Look at the way he builds up those mountains with layers and layers of blue, from the deep indigo shadows to the soft, almost powdery, sky. It's like he's feeling his way through the space, each stroke adding to the sense of depth and distance. There's a meditative quality to it, a kind of calligraphic gesture repeated across the whole surface. See how the texture of the ground is made of lots of tiny, almost imperceptible marks? That reminds me of Agnes Martin, but with a Russian twist. Roerich's paintings have this spiritual quality, like he's not just painting a landscape but trying to capture something deeper.