Ridge. Approaches to Everest 1936

Nicholas Roerich made this painting, *Ridge. Approaches to Everest*, using what looks like tempera, maybe gouache, and definitely a love of flattened forms. Look at how he's divided the mountain range into these geometric chunks, stacked against a sky that’s almost aggressively opaque. The pink clouds feel like afterthoughts, or maybe a subtle joke. I love the feeling that I could just cut these mountains out with scissors. It's all about the surface here – not trying to trick you into thinking it's a real mountain, but playing with the feel of the paint itself. See that little highlight of white near the mountain peak? It's not trying to be snow; it's just a dab of white, sitting there, doing its thing. Roerich reminds me a little of Milton Avery, another painter who wasn't afraid to simplify and flatten. They both show us how a painting can be a world unto itself.