Among the gray-green rocks and stones, we see a close-up image of an extremely thin old man standing on a rock, whose feet have already grown in to stone. The old man’s eyes are turned to the sky. His long gray beard reaches the ground. His only clothing is a narrow loincloth. The painting depicting a pillar ascetic tells about the spiritual feat of the one “naked and barefoot”, whose will overcome the worldly vanity, and he himself becomes a part of nature.

Statically quiet, but at the same time internally strained plot, together with bringing the near plan directly to the viewer, creates the effect of involuntary co-presence and participation in what is happening, whereas the depth of content makes you seriously think about the semantic content of the work, up to reflections on the essence of Being.

Figure of an old man with a body withered like a mummy, with feet grown into the stone up to the lower leg and a bear reaching his knees, gives the impression of not less than a century expectation in face of the Universe and God.

(D.N. Popov. Milestones of the Art of Nikolay Roerich.)