Sanga Chelling 1924

Nicholas Roerich made 'Sanga Chelling' with oil on canvas. This painting is bathed in shades of warm yellow, like a sunset. It's not just a colour, it's a feeling that wraps around the whole scene. You can almost feel the artist layering the paint, shifting shapes like the rock formations under his hand. What was it like to stand where he stood, mixing ochre and amber on his palette? There are these stupas perched on the horizon, ancient structures, and the artist has placed them slightly off-kilter as if he were unsure whether they were solid forms or apparitions. In this work, Roerich is in conversation with artists across time, a painter responding to forms and ideas passed down through art history. It's less about capturing what's there and more about what could be, embracing painting’s freedom and uncertainty.