Vignette for book "N. K. Roerich" 1918

This is a vignette for a book on Nicholas Roerich, and the exact date and medium are unknown, but it looks like ink on paper. It’s this simple scene, but the scratchy, handmade quality of the lines tells us a lot. I love the directness, almost like a woodcut but perhaps more immediate. Look at the bedspread: it’s just lines, but it reads so clearly. The nurse holding something at the door is rendered with the same economy. You get the sense that Roerich wasn't trying to hide the process or impress you with his technical skill; rather, it’s about capturing a feeling, a mood. It’s something you see in other of Roerich’s works too, this kind of pared-down, symbolic approach. It reminds me of artists like Emil Nolde, who also weren’t afraid to embrace raw, expressive mark-making to communicate a sense of spirituality or inner experience. In art, it’s about the conversation, right? What can be said with a simple line?