Terem of Yaroslavna 1908

Nicholas Roerich's painting "Terem of Yaroslavna" is this cool, blue-toned vision of a space, maybe made with tempera or gouache, it's hard to tell. You can feel the way he’s thinking about structures, and the way he is building the image with these small marks, a lot like a construction site. There's this incredible sense of depth created by the lines, and the layering of strokes. It’s like Roerich is figuring out the architecture right in front of us. Look at the window: the way he’s captured that light coming in, it’s almost as if the whole scene is breathing. The colour isn’t about being realistic, more about setting a mood, creating a dream. It’s so evocative. This reminds me a little of Marsden Hartley's landscapes, not in style so much, but in that feeling of trying to capture something essential, something beyond just what's in front of you. Art is like that, an ongoing conversation, a way of seeing and feeling that never really settles down.