The artwork, “Himalayas. Moon mountains,” was created by Nicholas Roerich in 1933. This landscape painting, rendered on canvas using tempera, belongs to the Symbolism art movement. It measures 25.5 x 36 cm and is currently housed in the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York City, NY, USA.
In this artwork, Roerich presents a serene depiction of the Himalayas under a moonlit sky. The towering peaks bathed in soft blue hues dominate the composition, creating a sense of tranquility and majesty. The gentle gradients of color shift from deep, shadowed blues in the foreground to lighter, almost ethereal shades as the viewer’s eye ascends the mountain slopes. The minimalist star-spangled sky above adds to the mystic ambiance of the scene. Roerich’s use of tempera on canvas enhances the delicate textures and subtle tonal variations, encapsulating the spiritual essence of the Himalayas in a dreamlike nocturnal landscape.