Lahaul 1932

Nicholas Roerich made this painting of Lahaul using what looks like thin washes of paint, mostly blues and purples. Imagine him out there, maybe a little cold, trying to capture these massive mountains. I bet he felt like he was painting the sublime, that feeling of awe when you’re confronted by something way bigger than yourself. He’s not trying to get every detail right, more like he's suggesting the idea of a mountain, its mass and its mystery. Look at the way he’s layered those blues, how some parts are almost fading into the sky. It's like he’s playing with depth, pulling you into the landscape. I mean, it almost reminds me of some Rothko paintings, those hazy color fields that just suck you in. You know, we painters, we’re all just riffing off each other, across time. Roerich’s mountains here, they’re his take on something eternal, something that keeps inspiring us to look and look again.