Robert Riggs, Untitled (watercolor)

Robert Riggs visited Europe, Algeria, Thailand, and Java from 1924 to 1925 and continued to travel throughout his career. He made watercolors and drawings of his observations from these foreign lands. Here, he portrays a congregation of Buddhist monks, kneeling in prayer in an interior, with a dark night sky visible between the geometrically ornamented piers. With expert control of his medium, Riggs individualizes the face of each devotee.