Steps of the Himalayas 1924

Curator: What a mesmerizing wash of blues. It feels simultaneously calming and immense. Editor: Absolutely. We're looking at Nicholas Roerich’s "Steps of the Himalayas," painted around 1924. Roerich was deeply interested in the spiritual weight of landscapes, particularly those in the Himalayas. It’s believed he worked with both tempera and watercolor to achieve this effect. Curator: The palette is hypnotic, almost monochromatic. The symbolic value of blue is powerful—associated with the heavens, with spirituality, truth and peace in many cultures. This aligns so strongly with Roerich’s known theosophical interests. The overlapping mountain forms give this dreamlike depth. Editor: Precisely. Beyond the visual grandeur, it's impossible to separate this from Roerich’s personal journey and, honestly, a rather complicated sociopolitical context. His expeditions through Central Asia, including the Himalayas, were arguably fueled by colonial-era fantasies about the East, entangled with spiritual seeking. Curator: Yes, that tension is palpable. Roerich presents the Himalayas as sacred, eternal—almost untouched by the concerns of the modern world. It is interesting to examine what has remained from older forms of symbolic associations with sacred sites. Editor: Yet, the "untouched" wilderness is, in itself, a constructed idea. Consider the local populations who lived in and around these mountain ranges for centuries; their stories are somewhat overshadowed in his romantic depiction. To look with nuance, we can’t extract it from its history. Curator: Agreed, acknowledging these multilayered viewpoints expands our engagement. These aren’t just mountains; they become palimpsests of overlapping ideals and historical influences, shifting and shaping our present cultural landscape. Editor: A beautiful thought. It reveals the continuous need for dialogues and challenging colonial gazes in artistic explorations to foster genuine understanding. It is a work filled with wonder and tension that deserves critical re-engagement.