Rinchenpong 1924

Nicholas Roerich made this painting, Rinchenpong, with what looks like tempera or gouache, and he’s mixed it quite thinly with water. The colors are muted and dreamy, almost like a memory. Look at the way the cool blues and grays wash over the mountains, creating layers of depth. It feels like he's trying to capture the vastness of the landscape, not just what it looks like, but how it feels. See that stroke of dark blue defining the edge of the mountain against the sky? It's almost violent in its simplicity, yet it perfectly captures the crispness of the air at that altitude. It's a beautiful example of how a single, confident mark can carry so much emotional weight. Roerich reminds me of Marsden Hartley, another artist who sought spiritual depth through landscape. Both artists embraced a kind of raw, unrefined approach, prioritizing feeling over technical perfection. Art is like a big conversation that never ends, where ambiguity and multiple interpretations thrive.