Himalayas 1936

Curator: Nicholas Roerich painted "Himalayas" in 1936 using tempera and oil paint. What strikes you about it? Editor: Wow, it's so still. Almost… spectral. It's like a dreamscape, all sharp angles and muted tones. Makes you feel both grounded and adrift. Curator: Roerich's paintings of the Himalayas, and indeed, much of his work, needs to be considered within the framework of Theosophy. He believed these mountains to be a spiritual center of the world, connected to cosmic energies. Editor: Cosmic energies, huh? I can dig it. I mean, look at those mountains, jutting out like they're piercing the sky. I get a feeling of raw power, but also, maybe a bit of longing. The vastness is a little intimidating, you know? Like staring into a mirror and seeing how small we are. Curator: The deliberate, almost geometric, composition emphasizes the timelessness of the landscape, its imperviousness to human interference. This Romantic era approach draws from the well of Orientalism that helped inform how the Western gaze constructed these faraway regions. Editor: Makes me wonder what it's actually like up there, to stand on those peaks, to see the world stretched out below. Roerich's palette, though, those muted blues and browns, makes it feel almost otherworldly. Like something seen through a veil. Or maybe a memory? Curator: Exactly, there is a real interplay in his paintings of supposed realist scenes tinged with Romanticism. Roerich’s perspective must be understood in relationship to his own socio-political views that embraced esotericism as an approach to resolving global conflicts. His work has often been criticised for aestheticising the colonial encounter between East and West. Editor: Hmmm…that gives me a lot to consider. Thanks. I mean, I'm walking away seeing a different range altogether now, and, frankly, one that I appreciate a lot more. Curator: Precisely, these kinds of complexities give Roerich's art the lasting relevance they retain.