Bowels 1924

Nicholas Roerich made this painting called Bowels with what looks like tempera paint. It's all about these rocky forms in shades of black, grey, blue, and a touch of green. You can almost see the artist building up these jagged shapes, one stroke at a time, like fitting together pieces of a puzzle. Imagine Roerich standing before the canvas, brush in hand, feeling the weight of each decision. Maybe he was thinking about the earth's hidden depths, or the way light and shadow play in these secret spaces. There's this figure standing in front of a bright cave opening, and I keep thinking, “Are they lost or are they about to discover something new?” There’s an ongoing conversation between artists across time, inspiring one another's creativity, and it makes me wonder what journey Roerich was on when he made this. Painting’s like that – a kind of embodied expression that embraces ambiguity, allowing for multiple interpretations.