Maitreya 1932

Nicholas Roerich painted 'Maitreya' with what looks like tempera, maybe, to achieve this beautiful, even surface. What did the act of making this painting feel like for Roerich, I wonder? I like the way he’s knocked in these blocks of color. I can feel his hand moving across the surface, carefully filling in the shapes. The way he renders these mountains is very particular, with this incredible layering of blues and purples; there’s something of Cezanne in the facets. And then you have this central statue, this striking golden figure in the foreground, almost like a beacon. You can really feel his mark-making in the way the paint is applied so directly. It looks like he mixed it with a dry brush. For me, this painting speaks to the power of art to capture the essence of a place, but also to imbue it with a sense of spiritual significance. As painters we are all having a conversation with one another. And that's beautiful.