Border of Tibet. Tsaidam. 1936

Nicholas Roerich made this painting, Border of Tibet. Tsaidam, and I'm guessing it was done en plein air, on the spot. It captures a scene of the mountains. There’s a lovely simplicity to how Roerich approaches his mark making. The colours—ochre, violet, soft pinks—they seem to rise out of the land itself. I'm struck by the texture in this piece, or rather, the lack of it. The paint application is so smooth, almost like a wash, that it creates a sense of stillness. The purple band, which could be water, seems to vibrate against the mountains, making the whole scene almost dreamlike. There's a small dark mark on the foreground. Maybe a rock? It anchors the composition, like a single note in a melody. Roerich reminds me a bit of Agnes Martin, another artist who found great power in simplicity and subtlety. And, like with Martin, there's an element of the spiritual in Roerich's work. Both artists invite us to slow down, breathe, and just be with the painting, embracing the ambiguities and mysteries of our perception.