The saints have gone - leave Gleb as keeper 1920

Nicholas Roerich made this tempera on canvas. It's a painting where the saints have packed up and left Gleb in charge. I can almost feel the artist's hand moving across the canvas, layering colors to create a mystical landscape dominated by a walled city in deep red. The paint looks thin, allowing the canvas texture to peek through, giving it a sort of earthy feel. High above, there’s a cloud of serene figures with halos, like some heavenly jury floating in judgement. Roerich's painting feels connected to Russian folklore and religious iconography, but there’s also something modern about the flat perspective and bold use of color. You can feel a sense of deep spirituality, or maybe a lament for a lost world. Painting is like a conversation across time, where artists respond to each other's visions, each adding their own layer to the story. It's a form of expression that doesn't need to be fixed; it grows and changes with us.