Koksar Camp 1932

Nicholas Roerich made this painting, 'Koksar Camp', with tempera on canvas. Roerich's colour palette in this landscape is so muted, with these chalky pinks, mauves and ochres. It reminds me of those old vintage postcards, where the colours have faded over time. The paint application is so flat and opaque; the forms are all simplified into angular shapes. It's like he’s trying to capture the essence of the landscape, not just a photographic representation. I love how Roerich uses these bands of colour to create a sense of depth. Look at the way the mountains recede into the distance, each layer a slightly different hue. And then there are these tiny tents dotted across the foreground, giving a sense of scale to the vastness of the landscape. Roerich's work reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley's landscapes, that same simplified form. Both artists were so interested in spirituality and the power of landscape. To me, paintings like this are about seeing and feeling, and about how painting makes us see and feel.