Mill in the mountains 1913

Nicholas Roerich painted 'Mill in the Mountains' with oils, and what strikes me first is the way the cool blues and greens define the solid forms of the landscape. You can really feel the weight of those mountains. Roerich's brushstrokes aren't trying to trick you into thinking this is a photograph. There's a kind of honesty in how the paint is applied, a process that’s laid bare. Look at how the waterfall tumbles down the mountainside: it's a dance of whites and creams, dashed on with visible strokes, capturing movement rather than detail. This makes the image vibrate with energy. There’s a spiritual quality here too, like in the work of Marsden Hartley or Hilma af Klint. Not because of any symbols, but because the handling of paint is so open. Roerich shares with them an openness to seeing art as an ongoing conversation, where meaning shifts and shimmers with each viewing.