“Old Riga” is a cityscape painting by Nicholas Roerich, created in 1903, encapsulating the essence of the Art Nouveau (Modern) movement. This work forms part of Roerich’s series “Sketches from travels in old Russian cities,” capturing the historical and architectural nuances of the region. The artwork offers a depiction of urban scenery marked by the distinctive characteristics indicative of the time and movement it belongs to.
The artwork portrays a dense configuration of urban structures with an emphasis on verticality in certain architectural details. The dominant building, with its spiraling tower and weather vane perched atop, anchors the composition. It imbues the scene with a sense of grandeur that contrasts with the humbler, surrounding rooftops. The rooftops themselves display a robust texture and a patterned rhythm, vibrant with red hues that draw the eye across the canvas.
Stylistically, Roerich employs a palette that evokes the ambient qualities of light and shadow, working together to create a visual narrative that is both realistic and imbued with a hint of romanticism. The contours of the buildings are delineated with confident and expressive lines, contributing to a sense of structural robustness as well as artistic flair. The sky, rendered in swirling tones of pink and grey, provides a dynamic backdrop to the urban landscape, suggesting an atmosphere filled with movement and transition.
Overall, in “Old Riga,” Roerich merges his artistic sensibilities with the historical subject matter, delivering a snapshot of the architectural beauty found within these old Russian cities, and doing so through the interpretative lens of Art Nouveau.
