Vignette for book "N. K. Roerich" 1918

This vignette was made by Nicholas Roerich for his book about N.K. Roerich. Imagine him, with his pen, scratching away at the page, cross-hatching the blankets and wooden floor, trying to capture the mood of the room. You can feel the weight of the blankets on the bed, the heaviness of the nun's robes as she comes to visit the sick person in the bed. Maybe he wanted to paint something other than all those landscapes. I can feel the artist thinking hard about the light and the dark in the room, using just a few lines to create a sense of depth and shadow. There's something intimate and compassionate about this image. Roerich is connecting with the long history of artists depicting human care. Through his graphic marks, he invites us into a quiet moment of reflection. Making something like this is like an ongoing conversation with the past, isn't it?