Morning prayer 1931

This is Nicholas Roerich's 'Morning Prayer', and I think Roerich was onto something pretty special. The colour palette is so restrained – blues and whites and this little figure in ochre – yet the painting feels alive. I can almost see him, Roerich, layering on these blues, building up the mountains with a sort of reverence. Mountains are solid things, and the painting feels solid too. It is something built, not something dashed off. I think of other artists who painted mountains, like Cezanne, but there is something so much more mystical about these paintings. It feels like he isn't just capturing a landscape, but trying to capture a feeling or a spiritual state. Artists are always talking to each other, riffing off each other's ideas. I wonder what Roerich would think if he knew his paintings were still sparking conversations today. I like to think that artists are in an ongoing dialogue.