Ecstasy 1918

Nicholas Roerich painted 'Ecstasy' sometime in the early to mid 20th century, probably with oils. The way Roerich models form with small brushstrokes and color variation really puts the process front and center. The mountains feel massive but the brushwork emphasizes their texture, color and feel, so the bigness comes from the accumulation of all these material qualities. Look at the rocks scattered at the base of the mountain; each one has its own identity, with little flicks of the brush implying a ruggedness, a crystalline structure. I love how the blues and purples of the mountains seem to bleed into the figure standing in the foreground. This connection between the figure and the landscape gives the painting a feeling of expansiveness. It makes me think of Marsden Hartley, who used the landscape as a form of spiritual and emotional expression. 'Ecstasy', like much of Roerich's work, invites us to consider the interconnectedness of everything – inner and outer, figure and ground, mark and form.