Fire paternoster 1907

Nicholas Roerich made this painting called Fire Paternoster, and it's like he's mixed the earth and sky together with a wild palette of blues, oranges, and yellows. I can imagine Roerich standing before the canvas, layering these colours, one over the other, almost like a landscape seen through heat haze. There’s a certain looseness, yet the forms are defined, solid. Look at how the peaks are built with dabs of colour, creating a shimmering effect, almost like stained glass. I’m reminded of Marsden Hartley's landscapes, they both shared the same kind of feeling of spiritual intensity. Roerich’s work shows that painting is a conversation, an ongoing dialogue between artists across time. It’s about feeling your way through paint and in that way, allowing a space for multiple readings that is really exciting to me.