Years of life of Roerich Nicholas Konstantinovich. Paintings by N.K. Roerich. Heavenly fight. Command of Heaven
- "Master of the Mountains" Nicholas Roerich
Artist, stage designer, philosopher, writer, traveler, archaeologist, public figure - the list of roles of Nicholas Roerich is endless. He drew up the first international agreement on the protection of cultural property and created the philosophical doctrine “Living Ethics”, revived ancient Russian crafts and designed theatrical performances at the Russian seasons of Sergei Diaghilev. Nicholas Roerich's paintings are kept in the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Museum of Oriental Art and private collections around the world.
Nicholas Roerich - “A Trip Through Antiquity”
Nicholas Roerich was born in 1874 in St. Petersburg. His father was a famous notary and public figure, his mother came from a merchant family. The boy received an excellent education: at the age of eight he entered one of the best private schools in St. Petersburg - the Karl von May Gymnasium.
The family spent summer and winter holidays at the Izvara country estate in the St. Petersburg region. Here young Roerich collected herbarium and minerals, studied local animals and birds. Even as a child, he began to study archeology: he conducted excavations, compiled relief maps, and described finds in detail. In Izvara, Nicholas Roerich met the famous archaeologist Lev Ivanovsky and helped him in archaeological research of local mounds.
The boy was interested in the history and epic of the Izvar land, and enthusiastically wrote down epics, legends and folk tales that he heard from local residents. Later, the plots of these works formed the basis of his paintings. For the first time, the boy’s artistic abilities were noticed by a family friend, sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin. He became the first teacher of the future artist.
The father did not support his son's hobbies and wanted him to continue the family business. Nicholas Roerich could not disobey his parents, so after a private gymnasium he entered the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University. At the same time, the young man passed exams at the Imperial Academy of Arts. His first major success was his graduation painting “The Messenger”: for it Roerich received the title of artist. In 1897 he graduated from the Academy of Arts, and a year later from the university.
The entire biography of Nicholas Roerich is connected with Russian history and culture. The young researcher's interest only grew stronger every year. While still a student, he became a member of the Russian Archaeological Society and conducted excavations in many Russian provinces and studied folklore. In 1903, the artist went on a long trip around Russia. He visited more than 40 cities famous for their ancient monuments.
Nicholas Roerich. An earthly curse. 1907. State Russian Museum
Nicholas Roerich. They are building boats. 1903. State Museum of Oriental Art
Nicholas Roerich. Watch. 1905. State Russian Museum
During the trip, a whole series of paintings was born - “The Beginning of Rus', the Slavs.” The artist reflected his mystical idea of ancestors on them. On his “trip through antiquity,” Roerich studied the roots of Russian culture, photographed antiques, and wrote articles about the value of ancient Russian art.
“It’s time for an educated Russian person to get to know and love Rus'. It’s time for secular people, bored without new impressions, to become interested in the lofty and significant, to which they have not yet been able to give their due place, which will replace gray everyday life with a fun, beautiful life.”
Nicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich completed his journey through ancient Russian cities in Talashkino - on the estate of philanthropist Maria Tenisheva. Here, together with artists Mikhail Vrubel, Alexander Benois and Konstantin Korovin, Roerich restored the techniques of ancient Russian crafts and traditions of folk crafts. In art workshops, he created sketches for mosaics and painting using ancient techniques. One of the most famous works is the decor in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino.
Artist, archaeologist, editor and scientist
Nicholas Roerich's talent manifested itself in various areas. He worked as an editor in the magazine “Old Years”, in large publications “History of Russian Art” under the general editorship of Igor Grabar and “Russian Icon”. As an archaeologist, he participated in the excavations of burial mounds on the territory of the Novgorod and Tver provinces. As an artist he created mosaics and paintings for churches, train stations and houses. As a decorator he designed opera, ballet and dramatic productions, and as a master of book and magazine graphics - various publications.
Along with the ancient Russian theme, oriental motifs began to appear in the works of Nicholas Roerich. He studied the philosophy of the East, collected objects of Japanese art, wrote several essays about Japan and India, created paintings with Indian motifs - “Devassari Abuntu”, “Devassari Abuntu with Birds”, “Border of the Kingdom”, “Wisdom of Manu”.
Nicholas Roerich. Devassari Abuntu. 1905
Nicholas Roerich. Devassari Abuntu with birds. 1905
Nicholas Roerich. Kingdom border. 1916
In his art, the artist combined realism and symbolism, focusing on great attention blossom. He almost abandoned oil and switched to tempera technique: he experimented a lot with the composition of paints, and used the method of superimposing one tone on another. The originality of his works was noted by many critics: from 1907 to 1918, nine monographs and several dozen art magazines devoted to Roerich’s work were published in Russia and Europe.
In 1916, due to a serious illness, Nicholas Roerich, at the insistence of doctors, moved to Finland with his family. After the revolution of 1917, Finland closed its border with Russia, and the Roerichs found themselves cut off from the young USSR. Several of his exhibitions were successfully held abroad.
In 1919, the Roerich family moved to London. Here they became members of the occult Theosophical Society. Nicholas Roerich and his wife Elena founded a new philosophical teaching “Living Ethics” - about internal transformation, the revelation of abilities and the mastery of cosmic energy.
A year later, at the invitation of the director of the Chicago Art Institute, Nicholas Roerich and his family moved to the USA. In America, he organized a large-scale three-year exhibition tour of 30 US cities, created sketches of costumes and scenery for the Chicago Opera, and gave lectures on Russian art, ethical and aesthetic education. During these years, the artist painted a series of paintings “New Mexico”, “Ocean Suite”, “Dreams of Wisdom” and a series of paintings “Sankta” (“Saints”) about the lives of Russian saints and ascetics.
"Master of the Mountains" Nicholas Roerich
In 1923, Roerich left America and went to Paris, and then to India, where he organized a large-scale Central Asian expedition. At this time, he conducted archaeological and ethnographic research in different parts of Asia, studied rare manuscripts, collected linguistic materials and works of folklore, described local customs, and wrote the books “Heart of Asia”, “Altai - Himalayas”. During these years, the artist created about 500 canvases. They reflected the picturesque panorama of the expedition route.
The extensive scientific materials that the Roerichs collected during the expedition required systematization and processing. After the trip, the couple founded the Institute of Himalayan Studies in New York, and then the Urusvati Institute (translated from Sanskrit as “Light of the Morning Star”) in the Himalayas, in the Kullu Valley.
In 1928, Nicholas Roerich prepared a draft Treaty for the Protection of Cultural Property - the Roerich Pact. The Pact was the first international instrument dedicated to the protection of cultural property, and the only agreement in this area that was adopted by the international community before the Second World War. For it, Roerich was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but he never received it.
Since the end of 1935, Roerich lived permanently in India. This period is one of the most fruitful in his work. In 12 years he painted more than a thousand paintings. At this time, two new books by Nicholas Roerich and several volumes of literary essays were published. In India, the series “Shambhala”, “Genghis Khan”, “Kuluta”, “Kulu”, “Holy Mountains”, “Tibet”, “Ashrams” were written, for which art critics called Roerich “the master of the mountains”.
Nicholas Roerich. Shambhala Dyke (Message from Shambhala). 1931
Nicholas Roerich. Chintamani. 1935-1936
Nicholas Roerich. Song of Shambhala. Tangla. 1943
During the Second World War, he again turned his work to the theme of his homeland and created a number of paintings using images of Russian history - “Igor’s Campaign”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Partisans”, “Victory”, “The Heroes Awoke”.
Nicholas Roerich died in 1947 in India, in the Kullu Valley of the Himalayan Mountains.
Biography
Russian painter, theater artist, archaeologist, traveler, writer, public figure. Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich is the father of the orientalist Yu.N. Roerich (1902-1960) and the artist S.N. Roerich (1904-1991). Translated from Scandinavian, the surname Roerich means rich in glory. According to family legend, its origin dates back to Viking times. One of the oldest representatives of the Roerich family in the 13th century headed the knightly order of the Templars, among the ancestors of N.K. Roerich had politicians and military leaders.
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on October 9 (old style - September 27) 1874 in St. Petersburg, in the family of a notary of the District Court of St. Petersburg (since 1873). Nicholas's father, Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich, married Maria Vasilyevna Kalashnikova in 1860 and settled with her in St. Petersburg - in a mansion on Nikolaevskaya embankment (now Universitetskaya), in which he opened his own law office. In addition to Nikolai, there were three more children in the family: younger brothers Boris and Vladimir and older sister Lydia. The paternal grandfather, Fyodor Ivanovich (died at the age of 105), who owned a collection of Masonic symbols, also lived with the family. The Roerich family spent summer and winter holidays in the Izvara country estate, acquired by Constantine Roerich in 1872 from Count Semyon Vorontsov (the name “Izvara” was given to the estate by Vorontsov after returning from a trip to India; translated from Sanskrit it means “God” or “Divine Spirit” ). In 1883, Nicholas Roerich passed the entrance exams to one of the best and most expensive private schools in St. Petersburg - the Karl von May Gymnasium. The exams were passed with such ease that von May exclaimed: “He will be a professor!” Most subjects were taught in German. Among Nikolai's various hobbies were drawing, geography, history, archeology, collecting minerals, horse riding, and hunting. The first drawing teacher was a friend of Nikolai's father, the artist Mikhail Mikeshin.
In 1893, Nicholas Roerich entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he studied with A.I. Kuindzhi (graduated in 1897). At the same time, according to the condition expressed by his father, who wanted his son to have a more practical education, Nikolai entered the Faculty of Law at State University(graduated in 1898); took a course at the Faculty of History and Philology. Simultaneously with his studies at the University, Nicholas Roerich began to earn money by illustrating in the magazines “Star” and “World Illustration” and by icon painting, having received orders from several churches. In 1897 N.K. Roerich, along with Kuindzhi’s other students, left the Academy in protest against the dismissal of his beloved teacher and continued to work on the series of paintings he had begun on the life of the ancient Slavs (“The Beginning of Rus'. Slavs”). I began to study ancient chronicles and books more thoroughly in 1895, when I met V.V. Stasov, head of the art department at the Public Library. While still studying at the university, Roerich became a member of the Russian Archaeological Society.
After completing his studies at the Academy and University, he became an assistant to the editor-in-chief of Stasov’s own magazine “Art and the Art Industry”; he signed articles published in the magazine with the pseudonym R. Izgoy. With the support of Stasov, he became assistant director of the museum of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. Nicholas Roerich's first trip was made by steamship in the summer of 1899 from St. Petersburg to Novgorod along the great waterway along which the Varangians sailed in Viking boats more than a thousand years ago. In 1900, Constantine Roerich died, Maria Roerich sold it to Izvara, and with the money received, Nicholas was able to fulfill his long-awaited dream - in September he went to study in Paris, stopping along the way in Berlin, Dresden and Munich. Nicholas Roerich studied in the workshop of the historical painter Fernand Cormon until mid-1901, returning to Russia in the summer. On October 28, 1901, in the church of the Imperial Academy of Arts, at six o’clock in the afternoon, Nicholas Roerich and Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova, who met in the summer of 1899, became husband and wife. Elena Ivanovna, the niece of Princess Putyatina, was five years younger than Nicholas Roerich. For the rest of her life, she would become his “friend and inspiration,” and he would call her “Lada,” an old Russian name that meant “harmony, inspiration and strength” to him. In order to provide for his family, in the same 1901 Roerich proposed his candidacy for the post of secretary of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists and was accepted for the position, despite the presence of other, older and more experienced applicants. In the summer of 1903, Roerich and his wife traveled around Russia, visiting twenty-seven cities. The purpose of the trip was to study ancient architecture. The results of the trip were presented at the Exhibition of Roerich's Architectural Etudes, which opened at the Society for the Encouragement of Artists in January 1904. Nicholas II, who visited the exhibition, wished that the entire series be acquired by the Alexander III Museum (currently the Russian Museum), but on the day of his visit, Russia declared war Japan, and the matter remains unfinished. In the same year, seventy sketches and several other paintings by Nicholas Roerich were sent to America as part of the Russian exposition for an exhibition and sale in the city of St. Louis (the paintings returned to Russia only seventy years later).
From 1906 - director of the Drawing School at this society (until 1918). Since 1909 - full member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1910-1919 - chairman of the World of Art association. To the revolution of 1917 N.K. Roerich was sympathetic; was a member of the Commission for Arts, created in March 1917 under the chairmanship of A.M. Gorky. In May 1917, due to a serious lung disease, Nicholas Roerich was forced to leave for the Karelian Isthmus.
Since the spring of 1918 he lived abroad: in the early 20s in the USA; from 1923 intermittently, and from 1936 constantly - in India. In 1918 N.K. Roerich tours Finland, Norway, Denmark, England with an exhibition of his works, and in 1920 he travels to America, where his works are especially successful. In the 20s and 30s he made two large expeditions to Central and East Asia (in 1924-1928 together with his wife E.I. Roerich and son Yu.N. Roerich and in 1934-1935). In 1926 he visited Moscow and was in Altai. In 1929, together with his son, he founded the Institute of Himalayan Research (Urusvati) in Nagar. Since the 20s, Nicholas Roerich conducted educational activities to attract the world community to the protection of cultural monuments (on the basis of the so-called Roerich Pact, which he put forward, in 1954 the Final Act of the International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was signed in The Hague, ratified by many countries, including the USSR). In 1942-1944 he was honorary president of the American-Russian Cultural Association. Nicholas Roerich died on December 13, 1947 in the town of Nagar (Kullu Valley, Punjab, India). In 1991, the International Center of the Roerichs was created in Moscow (transformed from the Soviet Roerich Foundation).
Among the literary works of Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich are poetry, prose, journalism: " Legal status artists in Ancient Russia" (1898; diploma work at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University), "Flowers of Moria" (1921; collection of poems), "Paths of Blessing" (1924), "Heart of Asia" (1929), "Fiery Stronghold" (1932), “Indestructible” (1936), “Gateway to the Future” (1936), “Altai - Himalayas”, “Artistic technique as applied to archeology” (course of lectures at the St. Petersburg Archaeological Institute), articles on issues of art and monument protection antiquity
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich is the author of more than 7,000 paintings, united in thematic cycles and series. Among Roerich's paintings are the Mongolian, Tibetan, and Himalayan series of mountain landscapes, symbolic compositions, a series of ninety canvases (monuments of ancient Russian architecture): "Messenger. "Clan to clan rose up" (from the cycle "Slavs. The Beginning of Russia"; the painting was presented by Roerich as a diploma work upon graduation from the Academy of Arts; 1897; Tretyakov Gallery), “Hike” (1899), “Overseas Guests” (subtitle - “Folk Painting”; 1901; Tretyakov Gallery; at an exhibition at the Academy of Arts in 1902, the painting was acquired by Tsar Nicholas II destining it for the Tsarskoye Selo Palace), "The City is being Built" (1902; Tretyakov Gallery), "Heavenly Battle", "Stone Age" (1910, location unknown), "Human Forefathers" (1911, location unknown), "The Cry of the Serpent" (1913, Pskov Museum), “The Doomed City” (1914, location unknown), “The Sign” (1915; Odessa Art Museum), “Guga Chokhan” (1931; Tretyakov Gallery), “Signs of Geser” (1940; Russian Museum) , "Himalayas. Nanda Devi" (1941; Russian Museum), "Tibet. Monastery" (1942; Russian Museum), "Remember" (1945; Russian Museum). Among the works in the field of theatrical and scenery painting are the scenery for the opera "The Pskov Woman" by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1909), the drama "Peer Gynt" G. Ibsen (1912), the ballet “The Rite of Spring” by I. F. Stravinsky (1913), the play “Sister Beatrice” by M. Maeterlinck (1914), the opera “Prince Igor” by A. P. Borodin (1914; Russian Seasons by S. P. Diaghilev). Among the works in the field of monumental art are sketches for church paintings and mosaics: the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino (1914), majolica friezes and picturesque panels in private mansions. Since 1906, N.K. Roerich painted in tempera, from the 20s s - mainly with synthetic paints.10 years after the death of N.K. Roerich, more than 400 works created by him in India, according to N.K. Roerich's will, were transferred to museums of the USSR.
Information sources:
Series "Sikkim". 1924 Tempera on canvas. 74x117.5 Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY
“In the painting “Drops of Life,” a woman in a golden robe sits on a rock ledge, on the slope of snowy peaks. She collects drops of life into a jug - drops of wisdom and knowledge pouring from a high-mountain source. In deep thought, she looks down at the Earth, where she will bring this vital moisture she has collected.”
(N.D. Spirina. Reflections, 1999)
A vessel is one of the symbols of human consciousness, and drops of life-giving moisture are grains of knowledge, as well as the skills and qualities of the spirit born of it, which will accompany a person even after his earthly life, in other incarnations...
Higher spiritual Knowledge is not like ordinary knowledge accessible to the intellect. This knowledge comes to a person slowly and gradually, like precious drops of the purest mountain water falling into a vessel.
(Album “The Path to Shambhala”, p. 30)
2. Burning the Darkness
Series "His Country". 1924 Canvas, tempera. 88.5x117
“...An expedition arrived from Everest (Qomolungma)... By the way, they tried to find out if we had climbed to Everest.
In the painting “Burning of Darkness” they recognized the exact image of the glacier near Everest and did not understand how this characteristic view, seen only by them, got into the picture ... "
(N.K. Roerich. Altai-Himalayas)
Burning of darkness is one of the most interesting paintings by N. Roerich.
From the mountain Abode of Light, a majestic figure solemnly carries out the reserved shining Stone of wisdom and knowledge, dispelling the surrounding darkness. The Bearer of the Treasure of the World is followed by a procession of people in reverent silence, immersed in deep prayer.
With their Light and energy of thought they destroy the accumulation of negative mental energy in Earthly space- the result of negative thoughts and feelings of most people.
This energy of thoughts poisoned by anger, envy and greed becomes negative, destructive, harmful. It negatively affects the environment, disrupts the natural energy balance of the elements and provokes natural disasters.
3. Treasure of the World - Chintamani
Series “His Country”, 1924. Tempera on canvas. 88.5 x 116.5. Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY
The Sacred Chintamani Stone is known under different names in the sacred traditions of almost all nations.
According to Legend, the birthplace of the Stone is the constellation Orion, which is connected in a special way with our planet.
In very ancient times, the Stone from Orion served as the foundation of the Great Community of Light on Earth, which received the name Shambhala in the East. Since then, the main body of the Stone has been kept in this Brotherhood, and its fragment is sent into the world. The cosmoplanetary connection between the distant constellation Orion, the Stone in the Brotherhood of Light and a fragment of this Stone wandering around the world begins to intensify at certain times, and then great historical shifts occur.
At turning points in history, the sacred Stone appears in those countries and in the hands of those heroes who can especially influence the course of human evolution. The stone was owned by the king of ancient Judea Solomon, the first emperor of China of the Qin dynasty, Alexander the Great.
Chintamani was located in Ancient Novgorod, in the hands of Tamerlane and Akbar the Great.
The main characteristic of Chintamani is its fiery nature, which is associated with its amazing properties: it can glow, emit sparks and flames, change its weight, make a crackling sound, predict events, and give its owner special strength and endurance.
The Sanskrit two-part word "Chintamani" literally means "gem of thought." Therefore, we can say that Chintamani is a fire crystal of the highest spiritual thought.
The Chintamani stone is the talisman of the New World; it contains the fate of the future of humanity.
In the East there is a poetic legend that tells that once at the appointed hour a white horse will descend from the mountains, on the back of which, instead of a rider, there will be a casket with the Chintamani Stone - the Treasure of the World. This will become a sign of the coming of a new era and the transformation of the world.
In the painting by N.K. Roerich, a wise horse, surrounded by radiance, carries the Stone down to the people with careful mountain gait.
4. Lao Tzu
Series “Banners of the East”, 1924. Tempera on canvas. Private collection, USA
“One day, a saddled buffalo approached the hut in which Lao Tzu lived and stood at the threshold. Lao Tzu came out, sat on him, and the buffalo rushed him off to the Himalayan peaks.
The era in which Lao Tzu lived is known as the “era of war” - a time of civil strife, when hostility and turmoil, the desire for power, honor and wealth served as the main drivers of people’s actions and thoughts. Seeing such a decline in morality, Lao Tzu leaves public service and retires into hermitage. He settles in the mountains and indulges in contemplation and reflection. It is believed that it was here that he thought about and wrote his famous “Book of the Path and Virtue” - “Tao Te Ching”.
... for a person’s life to be not a sorrow, but a blessing, a person must learn to live not for the body, but for the spirit. This is what Lao-Tse teaches. He teaches how to move from the life of the body to the life of the spirit. He calls his teaching the Way..."
(N.D. Spirina. Reflections, 2000)
5. Santana
1935-1936, USA
"Wheel of Life. Or as the Hindus will say: “Santana” - “Stream of Life”.
“...The flow of life - santana - is whimsical and generous. The stream is sprayed into a steep waterfall, only to then gather again into the channel.”
(N.K. Roerich, Sheets of the Diary, vol. 2, “Santana”)
6. On the tops
The painting “On the Heights” by N.K. Roerich depicts the well-known phenomenon “Tum-mo” - the ignition of the main energy centers of consciousness.
“Those who have comprehended the Tum-mo Teaching, according to the pilgrims, can sit for hours in the scorching icy wind without feeling the cold. On the contrary, they feel a pleasant warmth spreading throughout their body, and sometimes they see flames dancing around them. The lamas convinced me that some preachers, whose lives were the most sinless, were able to make snow melt at a considerable distance from themselves. Before reaching this Tum-mo stage, a monk had to undergo a course of training under the guidance of a mentor. Without the help of a teacher, “Tum-mo” is considered extremely dangerous...”
(Yu.N. Roerich)
7. The vessel is not spilled
1927, canvas, tempera, USA
“...the one carrying this good lamp must walk very carefully so that he is not pushed, and valuable oil is not spilled, and the fire does not go out. In this care there will be neither timidity nor selfishness.
If a person knows that he has something to convey in the name of the greater good, then he will strain all his resourcefulness, all his capacity and tolerance, just so as not to spill his cup in vain. After all, he is not carrying it for himself.
To shorten the path, he will pass through the catacombs and spend the night in a cave, perhaps he will not sleep enough and forget about food - after all, he is not going for himself.
Service to humanity<…>Everyone must set this high and difficult demand before themselves as an earthly goal.
In creativity, in help, in encouragement, in enlightenment, in all quests for achievement, the same Service will be before man. In it he only repays his debt.
...may maliciously push your lamp. They may destructively try to plunge you into darkness without fire. But cover this sacred flame with all your clothes, preserve it with all your thoughts. In such important hours, you need to apply all your savings, all your attention. ... Be the same cheerful and invincible.”
(N.K. Roerich. Indestructible. “Catacombs”, p. 182, Riga, “Vieda”, 1991)
“...Every creature has a grain of spirit, but their state and quality are different . Just as surely as one cannot remain motionless in cosmic motion, exactly the same the state of mind must constantly change . Let us only wish for everyone, and ourselves, first of all, that the cup of the spirit does not spill. So that the heavy drops of chaos do not incinerate the valuable, accumulated moisture of the cup.”
(N.K. Roerich. Indestructible. “Desired Labor”, p. 168, Riga, “Vieda”, 1991)
8. Treasure of the Mountains(Intimate)
The painting “Treasure of the Mountains” or “The Hidden” is dedicated to the secrets of the Himalayan monastery - “Shambhala”.
In his articles, Roerich often mentions huge treasures stored in the depths of the Himalayas. But this is not gold, not diamonds, not rubies. The Ancient East knows other treasures, spiritual. It was them that N.K. Roerich had in mind when he painted the painting “Treasure of the Mountains.”
The gaze is directed deeper into the cave. In the foreground are huge beautiful crystals saturated with golden radiance. But the point is not in these rare and precious minerals. There, in the depths of the vaulted cave, to the left and right of the entrance to it, against the blue background of the mountain, you can see the outlines of ancient statues carved into the rock. In the background is a group of people dressed in long robes. One of them holds a lit lamp, brightly illuminating the cave. These are Mahatmas. Their wisdom is the true spiritual treasure of the mountains.
9. Silver Kingdom. Mount Meru.
1938 Canvas, tempera. 48 x 78 cm. State Museum of Oriental Arts, Russia. Moscow
“...Whoever contemplates the Himalayas remembers the great significance of Mount Meru. The Blessed Buddha traveled to the Himalayas in search of Light. There, near the legendary holy Stupa, in the presence of all the Gods, the Blessed One received his Illumination. Truly, everything connected with the Himalayas bears the great symbol of Mount Meru, standing at the Center of the World.”
(N.K. Roerich “Shining Shambhala”, “Treasure of the Snows”, New York, 1930)
10. The path to Shambhala
1933 Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York
N.K. Roerich and all members of his family were keenly interested in the spiritual culture of the East, in particular, the philosophical heritage of India and Tibet. This interest gradually led them to the most sacred concept of the spiritual culture of the East - Shambhala, the Brotherhood of Teachers and Adepts of secret wisdom, who formed a monastery in remote areas of the Himalayas in order to help the spiritual development of the world.
The most mysterious part of the Roerichs’ “eastern path” is connected with their visit to Shambhala.
The texts of Agni Yoga and the essays of N.K. Roerich say that the uninitiated will never be able to find the way to the Ashrams of Shambhala. All paths to the monastery of the Himalayan Brotherhood are reliably disguised from casual curious people.
11. Mohammed on Mount Hira
1924 Tempera on canvas. 73.6×117. Museum named after N.K. Roerich, Moscow, Russia
Mohammed (Muhammad)(c. 570-632) - founder of the religion of Islam and the first Muslim community; the prophet of Allah and his messenger, through whom the text of the Koran, the main holy book of Muslims, proclaiming strict monotheism, was transmitted to people.
“I am sending... a photograph from my painting “Mohammed on Mount Hira” receives a decree from Archangel Gabriel. I heard very touching reviews from Mohammed’s co-religionists about this painting, who noted their understanding of tradition in hiding the face of the prophet.”
The plot of the painting “Mohammed on Mount Hira” is explained by the notes of N.K. Roerich in his expedition diary:
“The same archangel Gabriel of the Old and New Testaments on Mount Hira instructed Mohammed to begin preaching...
“At-Tabari speaks interestingly about the prophetic calling of Mohammed (“History of Prophets and Kings”). “The first thing that began the revelation of the messenger of God was the suggestions of truth, which came like the morning light. Then he became imbued with solitude and remained in a cave on Mount Hira. And then the eternally True One came to him. And he said to him: “Mohammed, you are the messenger of God " "I knelt down,” says the Messenger of God, “and stood waiting. Then slowly I went out. My heart was trembling. I came to Khadija and said: “Wrap me up, wrap me up,” and my fear passed away. And He appeared again and he said to me: “Mohammed, I am Gabriel, and you are the messenger of God.” ...
Varaka, the son of Naufal, said to Mohammed: “This is a divine revelation that was sent down to Moses, the son of Umran. If only I could live to see your people drive you out!” - “Will I be driven out by him?” - said Mohammed. “Yes,” he replied. - Truly, a person has never appeared with what you appeared with, without arousing enmity towards himself. Indeed, they will consider you a liar, they will cause you trouble, they will drive you out and fight with you.” Varaka’s words increased his firmness and dispelled his anxiety.”
(N.K. Roerich. Altai - Himalayas, M. 1999, p. 314)
12. Mother of the World
1930s. Canvas on cardboard, tempera. 97x65.5. Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY
The Mother of the World is a symbol of the Universe. The Mother of the World is a symbol of the feminine principle in the new era.
The painting “Based on a vision. Cult of the Eternal Mother of the World. Pisces is a symbol of silence. Landscape below - approaches to Tibet"
(Z. G. Fosdick “My Teachers”, p. 239)
“...The teachings speak of the coming era of the Mother of the World. Close to all hearts, revered by the mind of every born, the Mother of the World again stands at the great helm. The one who understands this Face of evolution will be happy and safe..."
N.K. Roerich. Power of Light, “Women”
“...They will ask: “Why is this century called the Age of the Mother of the World?” This is truly what it should be called. A woman will bring great help, not only bringing enlightenment, but also establishing balance.”
(Teaching of Living Ethics, Supermundane)
“...The Mother of the World is a great creative force in our essence. You lived in ancient cults, like the earth, like the sun, like fire, like air, like water. You, the Giver of everything, You are the Giver of revelation to everything! You, Who have revealed to humanity the great joyful knowledge of the Mother; You, who indicated the feat and hid your face; You, Who gave us the manifestation of spatial Fire; Taking on Your shoulders the burden of human actions; We will ask you to return our lost smile. Show us mastery of the sacred Fiery Power!”
(Teaching of Living Ethics, Infinity)
13. Messenger from the Himalayas (Heading Home)
No later than 1941. Tempera on canvas. 90.5 x 151 cm. Sri Chitra-layama Gallery. Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
“I regret that I don’t have a photo from the last painting “Message from the Himalayas.” The boat in the early morning fog was a success. There is silence and the distant mountains glow. June 1, 1940»
Roerich N.K. Meetings / From the literary heritage. M., 1974
“...In the later works: “Messenger from the Himalayas” (1940) and “Boris and Gleb” (1942), the surface of the water acquires, like Zhuang Tzu, the quality of unmanifest essence and true wisdom. Roerich’s ascetics, like messengers of the highest wisdom, float either on the surface of the water, or on the heavenly cloudy sea.”
E.P. Matochkin. Ancient China in the works of N.K. Roerich
14. Zoroaster (Zarathustra)
1931 State Museum of Oriental Art. Russia. Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 76 x 117 cm
The painting “Zoroaster” is dedicated to the Great Ascetic Zoroaster (Zarathustra), who lived about six thousand years ago in Persia (modern-day Iran).
Zoroaster is the great legislator and founder of the religious doctrine - Zoroastrianism (fire worship).
His teachings were based on three virtues: good thought, good word and good action.
“...On the top of a high rock, the Elder holds a fiery bowl in his hands and pours fire from it onto the ground. In this canvas the artist laconically and soulfully conveys the meaning of the great mission of the Iranian Teacher and ancient prophet Zoroaster. And is he the only one? Didn’t all the great spiritual Teachers bring the light of the fire of Knowledge, Wisdom and Love into the darkness of human existence?! “I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it would already be kindled” (Gospel of Luke 12:49,51). The fire kindled in the hearts and minds of people, in its light they began to see their path and comprehend their purpose on earth.”
N.D. Spirina
With a generous hand you shed light
High unpredicable planets
To the darkness of the earth - and will be defeated,
And he will disappear from the Earth forever.
N.D. SPIRINA to the painting by N.K. Roerich “Zoroaster”
15. Presenter
1944. Tempera on canvas. 116.3 x 73.3. State Museum of Oriental Art, Moscow
A woman in white robes is rushing high up the mountain. And behind her, holding the edge of her long robe, a man advances on his knees. The rocks also reach into the sky with their peaks, as if praying to him.
Elena Ivanovna Roerich wrote: “...A woman must rise herself spiritually, morally and intellectually to such an extent that she can entice a man to follow her. Remember the painting by Nikolai Konstantinovich “She who leads” (“Leading”). So a woman... should become not only a full-fledged collaborator in the organization of her whole life, but also an inspiration for life’s exploits.”
Elena Ivanovna herself was a high example, a concrete embodiment of this purpose of a woman.
N.D. Spirina
The one who leads
He knows: Heaven is calling us.
There is only one way - forward and upward.
Appointed by a person
Make your own destiny;
And he enters the fight
With an old personality in himself,
Winning that fight
The illusory world of earth,
The world is worthless and empty.
N.D. Spirina
16. Buddha the winner
1925 Tempera on canvas. 73.6×117. Museum named after N.K. Roerich, Moscow, Russia
« Buddha the winner » - before the source of life.
(N.K. Roerich “Altai - Himalayas”, M. 1974, p. 63)
Buddhism- one of three (along with Christianity and Islam of world religions). Originated in Ancient India in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. The founder is considered to be Sidhartha Gautama
In the religion of Buddhism, “Buddha” (Sanskrit) is the enlightened one. A person who has reached the state of highest perfection is one who has mastered perfect knowledge - wisdom.
“The word “Buddha” is not a name, but means a state of mind that has reached the highest point of development.
Buddha never claimed to be omniscient. “Brethren, I have not come to offer you any dogmas, and I do not require you to believe in what many others believe. I urge you only to enlightenment, unlimited by anything; use your own mind, develop it instead of allowing it to become dull. I implore you - do not be like wild beasts or stupid sheep. I pray to you - be sensible people, people who work tirelessly to master the true knowledge that will overcome suffering.”
E.I. Roerich
"Qualities of Buddha: Shakyamuni - wise from the Shakya family. Shakya Singha - a lion, Bhagavat - Blessed, Sattha - Teacher, Ji-na - Winner".
(N.K. Roerich “Altai - Himalayas”, M. 1999, p. 104)
Teacher Buddha pointed out that of the three types of actions, the most destructive Not word, Not a bodily act, but a thought.
17. White and Gorniy (White and Heavenly)
Series “His Country”, 1924. Tempera on canvas. 88.5 x 116.5. Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY.
“As soon as you climb the peaks of the Himalayas and look out over the cosmic ocean of clouds below, you will see endless shafts of rock chains and pearly strings of clouds. Behind them move the gray elephants of the sky, the heavy monsoon clouds. Isn’t this a cosmic picture that gives you the opportunity to understand great creative manifestations?”
N.K. Roerich. Shambhala is shining. Treasure of the Snows
The canvas “White and Mountain” is absolutely remarkable in its sense of heavenly space. The feeling of delight that covers a person who has conquered the peak emanates from this picture. The artist seems to have ascended to the heights of Everest and contemplates the opening panorama of the mountains.
Among the clouds of the most fantastic shapes, the artist draws in the foreground one that surprisingly resembles two huge human figures - a male and a female, leaning their heads against each other. They stand here spellbound and admire the beauty of the upper world of the Himalayas.
E.P. Matochkin. Dream of transformation
18. Teacher's Order
1937, canvas, tempera, India, Bangalore, collection of S.N. Roerich. Canvas, tempera. 84 × 153
“...The last, unfinished painting by Nikolai Konstantinovich is “The Teacher’s Order,” in which a self-absorbed figure, the beautiful figure of the Teacher, gives an order to a flying white eagle.”
P.F. Belikov “Continuous ascent” book. 1, p. 142-143
“The painting was painted just before the artist’s death and remained unfinished on his easel. Its plot was connected with the Teacher and the last experiences of N.K. Roerich before his departure. With this painting, he seemed to send his last greetings to the Himalayas and the amazing beauty that they gave him.”
"Nicholas Roerich", album. MCR, M. 1999, p. 54
19. Sergius the Builder
1925, “Banners of the East” series, tempera, USA, GrandHaven, Michigan, Donald Bolling Collection
Venerable Sergius of Radonezh (1314-1392), miracle worker, the greatest ascetic of the Russian land.
“...He built the community not only spiritually, but also materially, literally with his own hands. Having gone into the deep forests, where only animals lived. He created a community monastery that shone throughout all of Russia. He did it simply, like all truly great things are simple, starting with the fact that he cut down with his own hands a church and a cell for living. It was then that He planted the seed from which the Trinity-Sergius Lavra later, astonishingly for everyone, grew in all its splendor and grandeur. Let’s think about the potential this grain had!”
N.D. Spirina
“Sergius, the Builder of Communities, forbade his employees to accept alms. Food and things could only be accepted in exchange for labor. Starving, he himself offered his work. Community building and education were the only occupations of this remarkable man. Refusal from the metropolitan rank and from wearing valuable metals in his life is a natural act without any pretentiousness. Tirelessness of work; selection of young, unknown employees; simplicity both above and below. Refusal of personal property not by decree, but out of awareness of the harmfulness of this concept. Sergius retained a large place in the list of builders of the Community.”
(N.K. Roerich “Altai - Himalayas”, Riga “Vieda”, 1992, p. 87)
20. Karakirghiz
1932 Tempera on canvas. 46.5 × 79.3. USA, Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York
“Some words should sound in the mountains, others require a feather-grass-silk steppe, others need green forest noise. So there are words that are born only in the desert. To the same god, to the same center, words will be called from the sands. If the heart kindly knows the words of caves and mountains, if it cherishes the underwater and above-cloud cities, it will smile tenderly at the words of the deserts. Not in a blizzard and whirlwind and tornado, but in the sunset glow of the dunes, the heart will smile at that lonely traveler who interrupted his journey, abandoned earthly affairs, was in no hurry to reach the village, but called out to the Highest.”
N. Roerich “Leaves of the Diary”, vol. 1, “Kitab-el-Igan”, pp.160-161
21. Oirot - Messenger of the White Burkhan
Series “Banners of the East”, 1924. Tempera on canvas. 73.6 x117. International Center-Museum named after. N.K. Roerich (Moscow, Russia)
In the essay “Shambhala,” Roerich conveyed the legend of White Burkhan: “The mountains from Chuguchak to Altai become wilder and wilder. It is strange to see the Oirot riders for the first time - a Finno-Turkic race lost in the Altai Mountains. Only recently did this region, full of beautiful forests, thundering streams and snow-white ridges, receive its own name, Oirotia. The land of the Blessed Oirot, the folk hero of this secluded tribe. And another miracle happened in this country, where until recently crude forms of shamanism and witchcraft flourished.
In 1904, a young Oirot girl had a vision. Blessed Oirot himself appeared to her on a white horse. He told her that he was the messenger of White Burkhan and Burkhan himself would come soon.
The Blessed One gave the shepherd girl many instructions on how to restore righteous customs in the country and how to meet the White Burkhan, who will erect a new happy time on earth. The girl convened her clan and announced these new instructions of the Blessed One, asking her relatives to bury their weapons, destroy idols and pray only to the merciful White Burkhan.
A semblance of an altar was installed on the top of a wooded mountain. People gathered there, burned heather and sang newly composed sacred songs, touching and uplifting...
The local administration was embarrassed to learn about this new faith, as they called it. Peaceful admirers of White Burkhan were subjected to severe persecution. But the instructions of the Blessed Oirot did not perish. Until now, a rider on a White horse appears in the Altai mountains, and faith in White Burkhan is growing.
N.K. Roerich, “Heart of Asia”, essay “Shambhala”, Minsk, 1991, p.76
“White Burkhan, of course, he is the Blessed Buddha.”
N.K. Roerich “Altai-Himalayas”, M. 1999, pp. 386-38722. Star of the Hero
1933. Tempera on canvas. 92.3 x 122.0. Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York
In the dark blue sky, stars twinkle with a vibrant, vibrant light, and a sword-shaped comet cuts through the sky. This is the "hero star". And below, against the backdrop of huge mountains, a scarlet fire is burning, people are sitting around the fire and watching and listening... There is a story, also twinkling like stars, a story that ignites the soul.
Many paintings by N.K. Roerich are dedicated to the starry beauty of the Universe. The artist in the article “Celestial Architecture” wrote: “When we were freezing on the Tibetan plateaus, cloud mirages were one of the best consolations... But at the same time, myriads of stars were already shining, and these “star runes” reminded us that no matter how sad, neither despair is inappropriate. There were paintings "Star Runes", and "Star of the Hero", and "Star of the Mother of the World", built on the riches of the night sky. And on the most difficult days, one glance at the starry beauty already changes the mood. The infinite makes thoughts sublime.
People are definitely divided into two types. Some know how to rejoice in the heavenly architecture, but for others it is silent, or rather, their hearts are silent. But children know how to enjoy the clouds and elevate their imagination. But our imagination is only a consequence of observation. And from his first days, everyone is already expected to have a heavenly book of indescribable beauty.”
N.V. Urikova Description of 100 paintings by N.K. Roerich and 5 by S.N. Roerich
23. Gessar Khan
1941. Canvas, tempera. 91 x 152. Memorial apartment of Yu. N. Roerich, Moscow
Geser Khan is the main character of the Mongol-Tibetan heroic epic, in which Geser is glorified as a folk hero, a fighter for the freedom and happiness of the people.
Geser Khan is a protector and sage, a legendary hero of many peoples and countries - Mongolia, Tibet, Altai, and was revered as a defender of the weak and oppressed.
The painting is based on the plot of the Central Asian epic. In the painting, Geser Khan shoots from a bow into the dark sky, engulfed in fiery red flame. Above this sky, already in other limits, a universal, apocalyptic battle of good and evil is taking place. The defender of the good beginning, Geser Khan, aims at the invisible.
Roerich dedicated this painting to his eldest son Yuri, an orientalist,
The hero is very close to Yuri Nikolaevich. This is one of the Names of the Lord of Shambhala. The painting was painted by Nikolai Konstantinovich especially for his son and presented to him for his birthday. To this picture L.P. Dmitrieva has written wonderful poems.
GESER KHAN
Today there can be no nizani against it.
Only - for, only - against.
Now there can be no nida, no ninnet.
Or only - yes, or only - no.
Don’t you see: the clouds are swollen with scarlet blood over the planet?
And darkness creeps out from all the crevices.
And, maddened, the elements rush about.
And the leaf turns pale before the universal thunderstorm.
And the horse trembles and thirsts for battle.
And in unprecedented tension there is a bowstring in a hand that does not know defeat.
And the arrow froze in its aspiration...
The great warrior Geser Khan - destroyer of darkness, warrior of Light,
having passed (and once again!) the above-ground road of the spirit with human feet on the ground.
Mighty knight Geser Khan, protector of all who seek protection in Him...
But I am no longer looking for protection, great warrior of Shambhala, Lord Geser Khan.
I want to become an arrow in your quiver that strikes the enemy.
Or if not an arrow, then its tip, at least or its feathers.
Just to fly where Your hand directs, Great warrior of Shambhala...
24. Confucius the Just
Series "Banners of the East" 1925. Tempera on canvas. 73.6 x 117. USA
Confucius (Kung Fu-Tzu, 551-479 BC) - the most prominent thinker, politician and teacher of Ancient China, founder of the first Chinese philosophical school. He came from a noble but ruined family. He was an adviser to the ruler of the kingdom of Lu, but voluntarily resigned and founded his own school.
Disillusioned with the social and political structure of his time, Confucius traveled to various Chinese principalities in the hope of convincing the rulers to use his teachings to establish peace and social harmony. Confucius spent 14 years traveling and upon returning home devoted his life to enlightening ordinary people. It was only several centuries after his death that the rulers of the Han Dynasty accepted his theories as principles for governing the country.
“...Confucius, great for his peacefulness and justice, was so persecuted by his contemporaries that he even had to keep a harnessed chariot ready and spent most of his life in forced movements. But history has cast the names of these ignorant persecutors into the abyss. And Confucius not only remained in memory, not only lived through millennia, but his name is even more strengthened in the present modern consciousness.”
N.K. Roerich. Stronghold of Fire, III. RICH POVERTY
The views of Confucius himself are set out in the book “Conversations and Judgments.” He attached very important importance to study in the upbringing of a person. The principle he put forward ren - literally “philanthropy”, reads: “What you don’t wish for yourself, don’t do to others.”.
“...Confucius, so often misunderstood and persecuted, commanded: “When we observe phenomena, we can achieve knowledge; when we have achieved knowledge, we acquire good desire; when we have acquired a good desire, the heart is purified, the person becomes cultured; when a person becomes cultured, order reigns in his family; order reigns in his country; when order reigns in every country, then peace will reign throughout the world.”
N.K. Roerich. Gateway to the future. Fate
25. Compassion (Mercy)
1936. Tempera on canvas. 61.5 x 92.5. Latvian National Art Museum. Riga. Latvia
"The idea of compassion can be expressed in different forms. But how touching is what we see in N. Roerich’s painting! The Rishi puts his hand under the arrow to protect the doe, which trustingly seeks his salvation. An act of great mercy is depicted in this acceptance of another's pain or even mortal danger to myself.
“By calmly accepting someone else’s suffering or burden, using the fires of your heart you can neutralize it, and then the help will be real and strong. Like in the picture of the Guru: while protecting, Rishi took the blow and arrows onto himself, into his own hand, but at the same time he protected the persecuted victim. This is true help - to take the blow intended for the one who is being protected. This is true compassion."
N.D. Spirina. Reflections, 2002, p.120
In the canvas “Compassion” the most important ideas of the teaching of Living Ethics - about mercy, self-sacrifice, the victory of good, achieved not by violence, but by the power of transformation, enlightenment of consciousness - found artistic embodiment.
The contrasts of chiaroscuro and the juxtaposition of color spots in the painting visibly embody the idea of opposition between good and evil, ignorance and wisdom. The noble silhouette of a lama with a bowed head seems to radiate inner light and peace. As is known, in the philosophy of Buddhism, absolute peace contains the highest tension and creativity of the spirit. It is this kind of force, the artist claims, that stands guard over life, taking upon itself the arrows of death and faceless destruction.
“In compassion lies the great pearl of Secret Knowledge. All Bodhisattvas, all saints, all ascetics rushed along this path.”
“Compassion is not a quality. It is the Law of Laws, eternal Harmony, the World Soul Itself; the boundless universal Essence, the Light of abiding Truth, the harmony of all things, the Law of eternal Love.
The more you merge with it, dissolve your being in a single Being, the more your Soul enters into unity with all that exists, the more completely you will transform into PERFECT COMPASSION.
This is the path of the Arhat, along which the Buddhas of Perfection are coming.”
Treasure of the World. Comments on some paintings by N.K. Roerich. Publication of the Kuzbass Roerich Society
26. Remember!
Series “His Country”, 1924. Tempera on canvas. 87.6x117.8. USA, Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York.
A later version (1945), more intense in color, is in the State Russian Museum. Russia. Saint Petersburg. Canvas, tempera. 91 x 153 cm.
“...Having touched the high “Mountain World”, do not forget about it when you descend into the worldly bustle of the valleys, where the obligatory “deeds of everyday life” await you.
P.F. Belikov “Continuous ascent” book. 2, p.59
“...A majestic panorama of the Himalayan mountain range, peaks illuminated by the pink rays of the rising sun. A lone rider leaves his home. Somewhere in the lowlands important matters await him. The rider turns around and takes a farewell look at his house, the women accompanying him on his long journey, the snowy peaks leading to the heavens. “Remember why you are leaving us, what you must accomplish and why you must come back here!”
P.F. Belikov “Svyatoslav Roerich. Life and creativity", MCR, M., 2004, pp. 72-73
27. Nagarjuna - conqueror of the Serpent
Series “Banners of the East”, 1925. Canvas, tempera. 76.2×122. Museum named after N.K. Roerich, Moscow, Russia
“Nagarjuna - the Conqueror of the Serpent” sees a sign on the lake of the Lord of the Nagas.
N.K. Roerich “Altai - Himalayas”, M. 1999, p. 99
Among the famous thinkers and poets of Ancient India, one of the main places rightfully belongs to Nagarjuna (Sanskrit: “Victorious Naga”), who earned the epithet “Second Buddha”. He is the author of an extensive written heritage and the founder of the Mahayana - the path of the Great Vehicle. The great power of Love and Compassion for all living things determined the enduring value of his works.
According to ancient legends, the undaunted Nagarjuna gained wisdom from conversations with Naga, the snake king.
Nagas in Indian mythology are snake-like demi-deities. They are guardians of treasures and sacred borders, protecting the sacred, allowing only the dedicated and worthy to touch it. Snakes symbolize wisdom.
In Roerich’s painting, Brahma in a fiery glow is visible on Nagaraja’s chest. Traditionally he is depicted as red, with four heads and four arms, shining like a thousand suns, sitting on a blossoming many-petalled lotus. The king of the nagas appears in the guise of a multi-headed serpent, similar to an umbrella made from the hoods of cobras. The Naga's body wraps around the volcano, holding back the hellish underground fire and preventing the wonderful flower of all-conquering Wisdom from dying. Motionless as the mountains, the figure of Nagarjuna personifies spiritual fortitude: it opened the way for him to the secret knowledge of the King of the Nagas.
The meaning of the mysterious signs carved on the rock in the left corner of the picture is clarified thanks to the statements of Nagarjuna himself:
Know that thoughts are like drawings
On the surface of the water, on the ground and on the stone.
The former are better for the darkened;
The latter are better for the Righteous and pure.
28. Yuen-Kang
1937 State Museum of Oriental Art. Russia. Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 82 x 50 cm
Under the layers of rock, first the head, then the torso of the statue appeared. Finally hands appeared. They carefully separated the breed from the wonderful work of art. When the body was separated, the lama ordered to stop work, because there was nothing further. The statue turned out to have no legs. They started asking: “Where could the legs have gone?” The Lama, with a mysterious expression, said that he was tired and did not consider it necessary to continue the experiment.
“... The painting: “Yungan” (1937) depicts a colossal statue of Buddha from the cave temple of the same name...”
Roerich Yu.N. Along the paths of Central Asia
29. Thought
1946 State Museum of Oriental Art. Russia. Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 60.7 x 103 cm
“In the foreground of the reproduction, the image of the Teacher attracts our attention. The Great Lord, connected by the Beam to the Hierarchy of Light, controls spatial thoughts-energies and directs them into the evolutionary general cosmic flow of grace. This “Great Vigil” takes place day and night. “Pink peaks shine in the distance, the pink color expresses love; a symbol of great pure love, hence the color is delicate, bright and transparent.”
(E. Pisareva. The power of thought and mental images)
“The Great Buddha pointed out the meaning of the thought that makes up our essence and taught the expansion of consciousness.
N.K. Roerich wrote: “All peoples know that the place of holy people is on the mountains, on the peaks. From the heights - a revelation. A peak shining with heavenly beauty, like a beacon of Light, like a calling dream of perfection, like a path from which distant horizons open. The order of the future sounds through the Light.”
“...You can send your best thoughts to the world every day. You can support every good endeavor in any corner of the globe with your thoughts. “Everyone can help the new construction with his thoughts, no matter where he is and no matter what he does.”
(G.A.Y. vol. 2, 178)
“Every moment a person either creates or destroys. The world is filled with contradictory thoughts. Many diseases are rooted in thoughts of destruction.” (Aum, 141)
30. Guru Kambala
1925. Private collection. USA. Tempera on canvas 66 x 98 cm
“...And two more touching images should not be forgotten. The founder of the so-called Manichaeism, Mani, was crucified on the gates of a city in Persia in the 3rd century for the synthesis of teachings and for the idea of community. The other is Guru Kambala, who gave his head as a symbol of devotion and service.”
N.K. ROERICH Altai - Himalayas.
Legend says that in a battle with enemies, Guru Kambala would have to die, because... the attacker's sword cut off his head. But the inner man - and it was he who fought - did not seem to notice the loss of the physical head. The warrior teacher, in the heat of battle, simply grabbed his severed head from the ground, raised his sword, rushed at the enemy and won.
31. Prophet Bada the Preacher
1945 Novosibirsk State Art Museum. Russia. Canvas, tempera. 71.3 x 129.8 cm.
The museum is called "Beda the Preacher". Some sources indicate the year of creation of the painting as 1942.
The main character was taken by the artist from an ancient legend, which tells how the blind sage Bed, accompanied by a boy, walked for a long time through mountainous terrain. When the guide was tired, he told Bade that many people had gathered around and they wanted to listen to him. The boy lay down to rest, and Beda, mistaking the splash of the wave for people talking, began to preach. In the picture, all nature, the whole Cosmos listens to the preacher in one impulse, because... he speaks from the heart. The sun hovered, the mountains fell silent, the river stopped its flow, the clouds caught the reflection of the rays, listening to Badu. Everything is filled with high vibrations of beauty, and even stones are spiritualized by the divine radiations of Beda.
Beda is an image of a person who has realized his life duty as Service to the Common Welfare, all people and the planet. The artist explained this work as follows: “Each of us remembers the beautiful poem “Beda the Preacher,” when the stones thundered in response to his calling word. If the stones can agree and affirm something in a harmonious choir, are people really lower than the stones?”
It was evening. In clothes wrinkled by the winds,
Bed walked blindly along a deserted path.
He leaned his hand on the boy,
Walking on stones with bare feet.
And everything was dull and wild all around,
Only the pine trees grew centuries old,
Only the gray rocks stuck out,
Shaggy and damp, dressed in moss.
But the boy was tired; taste fresh berries,
Or maybe he just wanted to deceive a blind man:
“Old man!” he said,
I'll go rest
And you, if you want, start preaching:
The shepherds saw you from the heights...
Some old men are standing on the road...
There are wives and children! Tell them about God
About the Son crucified for our sins."
And the old man’s face lit up instantly,
Like a key breaking through a layer of stone,
From his pale lips
Living wave
The lofty speech flowed with inspiration -
Such speeches cannot happen without faith!...
It seemed as if the sky appeared to the blind man in glory,
The hand trembling to the sky rose,
And tears flowed from extinct eyes.
But now the golden dawn has burned out,
And for a month a pale ray penetrated the mountains,
The dampness of the night blew into the gorge,
And so, while preaching, the old man hears
The boy calls him, laughing and pushing:
“That’s enough, let’s go, there’s no one left!”
The sad old man fell silent, his head drooping,
But he just fell silent - from edge to edge:
“Amen,” the stones thundered in response.
Ya.N. Polonsky
32. Song of the Stream (Song of the Waterfall)
1920 Series Suite "Dreams of Wisdom" (composed in 1920). Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY. Canvas, tempera. 235 x 122 cm
In the painting “Song of the Stream” (“Song of the Waterfall”), 1920, Nicholas Roerich turns to the traditional symbols of the East - the lotus symbolizes Divine truth and purity, the river - human life.
With an exquisite linear rhythm, the artist emphasizes the contrasts of the sharp outlines of rock ledges, foaming water and the smooth lines of a quiet backwater with blooming lotuses...
Against the background of a monolithic rock is the body of a graceful girl, like a delicate flower.
In the whole picture one can feel complete harmony and unity of a beautiful, harmonious person and the pristine pure world around him.
A girl and a waterfall, a flower and a rock - everything sounds with the beauty of eternal Divine life.
33. Song of the Waterfall
1937 State Museum of Oriental Art. Russia. Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 100 x 61 cm
...Roerich knew how to hear and appreciate beautiful sounds not only in concerts. He distinguished music in the sounds of nature: “A person should listen to beautiful music and singing. Sometimes one harmony will forever awaken the feeling of beauty... Without realizing the meaning of music, it is impossible to understand the sound of Nature... The song of a waterfall, or a river, or an ocean will only be a roar. The wind will not bring melody and will not ring a solemn hymn in the forests. The best harmonies are lost to the unopened ear.”
In his painting “The Song of a Waterfall,” a woman listens to the music of flowing water and selects these sounds on the strings of a musical instrument.(…)
Roerich contrasts contrasting tones in his paintings, enhancing the effect of the colors, just as composers compare the timbres of various instruments in their orchestral pieces and thereby achieve a particularly vivid identification of the sounds of each instrument.
N.D. Spirina. Reflections, part 1. 1944-1989. pp. 52-54
34. And we labor (And we labor)
1922 Series of paintings “Sankta” (“Saints”). International Center-Museum named after. N.K. Roerich. Russia Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 71.5 x 101.7 cm
The path of spiritual development of a person begins with hard physical labor, “all kinds of toil.” While building the monastery, the Reverend himself, with two water carriers, carried water for the brethren (as depicted in the picture), ground flour with hand millstones, baked prosphora, brewed kvass, rolled church candles, cut and sewed clothes and shoes, and worked for the brethren “like a bought slave.” On the canvas we see how the saints are engaged in simple earthly affairs, working for the Common Good. They walk on the water at a considerable distance from each other, which suggests that there is no idle chatter between the monks. While doing earthly things, you can rush into higher spheres with high and beautiful thoughts, cementing space with beauty.
SPIRINA N.D. Sacred Suite. Novosibirsk: SibRO, 200135. Lotus
1933 Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY. Canvas, tempera. 74.4 x 116.9 cm
“...Here in the Ganges near Benares a sadhu sits on the water in a sacred position. His crossed legs are covered with water jets. The people run to the shore and marvel at the holy man..." N. Roerich. The Fiery Stronghold. Rishi
36. Heavenly battle. Command of Heaven
1912 and 1915. State Russian Museum. Russia. Saint Petersburg. Cardboard, tempera 66 x 95 cm
What could have given rise to such a “heavenly battle?” Of course, only anger, denial, selfishness and other negative qualities of people that upset the balance not only in the person himself, but in all of nature. Human imbalance causes disorder of the elements and all kinds of natural disasters. And although the dark masses of clouds are still strong, fiery formations are already displacing them. People will have to answer for their offspring.
In the painting “Heavenly Battle”, less than a fifth of the part is occupied by a valley with lakes and pile buildings. The rest is swirling clouds, sometimes permeated with golden sunlight, sometimes turning into the blue of thunderclouds. This is the struggle of Light and darkness. The heavenly and the earthly seemed to split into two, as if they moved away from each other. There is a battle between two principles. There is something hidden in these irregular, warring forms of clouds. At first, the figures of flying Valkyries were painted on a copper-sounding cloud, which the artist then turned into clouds: “Let them be present invisibly”... Even if invisibly, these forces are really present there. The pile village depicted below seems to have fallen silent, awaiting the outcome of the battle of the elements.
N.V. Urikova. Description of 100 paintings by N.K. Roerich and 5 by S.N. Roerich
37. Subsoil (Lower than the depths)
1924 Series "His Country" (compiled in 1924). International Center-Museum named after. N.K. Roerich. Russia Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 89 x 116.6 cm
From the notes of N.K. Roerich: “At the foot of the Himalayas there are many caves, and they say that from these caves underground passages lead far beyond Kanchenjunga. Some even saw a stone door that never opened because the time had not yet come. Deep passages lead to the Beautiful Valley. You can understand the origin and reality of legends when you become familiar with the unexpected formations in the nature of the Himalayas, when you personally realize how closely glaciers and rich vegetation come into contact."
Roerich N.K. Shambhala Shining. Treasure of the Snows
The work of N.K. Roerich symbolizes human consciousness, plunged into the depths of almost complete numbness and suddenly accepting the voice of spiritual flight.
38. Kyrgyz mazar. Sanju
1925 University of North Carolina. Charlotte. USA. Canvas on cardboard, tempera. 30.5 x 40.5 cm
October 6. Again we walked along the current of Karakash. Large old Kyrgyz cemetery. Mazars with a hemispherical vault. Low graves lined with horsetails with horse tails. Positively, mazars are very often old Buddhist chortens. After the mazar we parted with the flow of Karakash.
16th of May. We are standing in Sanju; the village is 39 versts (Russian versts). You can’t stand outside the outskirts: it’s dangerous at night, and our faithful guard Tumbal remained at the consulate. We are standing in the yard. An old Kazakh woman in white walks sedately around the yard. Girls with many black pigtails quickly sneak out of the hut. It's already six o'clock and the fever hasn't started to subside yet.
* “...We reached the section of the roads to Kokyar or Sanju” - the path to Khatan through the village of Kokyar in the valley of the Karakash River is longer, through the Sanjutag ridge is shorter"
39. Hunting
1937 State Museum of Oriental Art. Russia Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 45.5 x 78.4 cm
The painting “Hunting” is the artist’s vision of nature, the feeling of a universal landscape, it is spaciousness, purity, crystalline air, the age-old power of a mountain range.
The depicted two timid deer symbolize the tragedy of nature in our time, which is predetermined by the spiritual and moral decay of humanity.
“...Indeed, if once in ancient times murders numbered in the thousands, then in our “enlightened” times the number of murders exceeds many millions. If once hunters with a primitive bow and spear killed a few animals, now in the slaughterhouses alone in Chicago several tens of thousands of animals are killed in the shortest possible time.
If you, even with all the scientific data in your hands, hint at the benefits and nutritional value of vegetarian food, then you will again be suspected of some kind of antisocial aspirations. Among civilized and even cultured humanity, blood is something very nutritious, and there are still ignorant doctors who prescribe bloody meat.
…So, along with the number of covenants against murder, the very number of bodily murders increases, from small to large, from animals to humans.”
N.K. Roerich. Fiery stronghold
40. Lhamo (Palden Lhamo)
1931 Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY. Canvas, tempera. 74.2 x 117.5 cm
Place Lahul. “...Palden Lhamo Waterfall; nature itself inscribed on the rock a statue of a formidable goddess riding her favorite mule. “You see how the mule raised his head and right leg. Consider how clearly the head of the goddess is visible.” We see, we see! And we listen to the incessant song of the mountain stream.” N.K. Roerich. The Flaming Stronghold, Riga, Vieda, 1991, p.179
Lhamo - in Lamaism - the terrible “keeper of the law” and “defender of the faith.” Merciless towards apostates from the faith. Patroness of Lhasa.
Palden Lhamo, the Dharmapala goddess, belongs to the category of “those who have gone beyond the six spheres of existence,” that is, “non-worldly” gods who have emerged from the circle of births and deaths.
In Tibetan Buddhism, Palden Lhamo became a guardian deity - she protects the teachings of the Mahayana. She is also considered the protector of the capital of Tibet, Lhasa. In Tibet there is a lake called Lhamo Latso, where, according to legend, the goddess lives and on the shore of which rituals are performed, and high lamas receive instructions regarding the rebirth of the Dalai Lamas and Panchen Lamas.
41. Guardians of the Snow
1922 Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA. NY. Canvas, tempera. 51.5 x 76 cm
Roerich N.K. Altai - Himalayas. II. Sikkim (1924):
Outside the gates of Pemayandze there are guardians of three-hundred-year-old trees. Fairytale forest of Tsar Berendey. And the street of llama houses, like the Berendey settlement, is painted and equipped with colored porches and ladders.
Bkra-shis-lding. February, 1924.
Roerich N.K. Fredum / Unbreakable. Riga: Vieda, 1991:
Can the idea of protecting dignity be non-peaceful? A peaceful watch, a watch in the name of peace, is quite possible, but the point is that there should be peace in the hearts of this watch. This high world will not be a malicious neighbor, but, on the contrary, it will be a good neighbor who knows its boundaries with honor.
Roerich N.K. Revival / Unbreakable. Riga: Vieda, 1991:
...Who knows why everyone is entrusted with patrol in one place or another. As a human being, we can assume that it would be better not here, but there. Or maybe it is the guards who are entrusted here. Therefore, let us accept this watch in full readiness, heading towards the desired updates in our hearts.
42. Bright Knight
1933 Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA, New York. Canvas, tempera. 46.3 x 78.9 cm. There is a name “Warrior of Light”.
...Now unexpectedly, after ten months, the [magazine] “Art and Culture” has been resurrected - at the head are my [paintings]: “Holy Guests”, “Rigden[-Dzhapo]” and “The Bright Knight”. It's amazing how a magazine can exist with such almost year-long breaks without any explanation.
N.K.ROERICH Letters to America (1923-1947). - M.: Sfera, 1998. - 736 p. - Series “Roerich Archive”. 15.XI.46
43. Holy Mountains (Path to Kailash)
1933 Series "Holy Mountains" (compiled in 1933). Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA, New York. Canvas, tempera. 46.3 x 78.9 cm
“Let us continue our pilgrimage. ...We will cross the old road to Karnat, leading to Great Kailash, the seat of powerful hermits, and the waymark to Shambhala.”
N.K. Roerich “Heart of Asia”, p.99, New York, 1929
“Before us is the path to Kailash... Rishis lived here for the Good of the Universe!”
N.K. Roerich "Fiery Stronghold"
Kailash is one of the peaks of the Himalayas, 6724 m high.
The canvas depicts the sacred Mountain of the Gods Kailash, or the legendary Mount Meru. For Hindus, the heights of the Himalayas - Kailash - are the place of residence of the Gods, where the Gods, in vigilant watch, guide the spiritual growth of humanity.
“...God and the gods were the center of the spiritual life of every person, and these Mountains of the Gods were considered the center of the world.
And to this day, many pilgrims, approaching the holy Mount Kailash, often walk the last part of their journey around the ice-bound mountain, in their great fanaticism, on their knees.
Milarepa once meditated in the caves above the Kailasa abysses, where Buddha's disciples immersed themselves in spiritual contemplation.
On Mount Kailash, hermits still live in the caves of this wonderful mountain, filling the space with calls that awaken people to righteousness."
R.Rudzitis. Brotherhood of the Grail
Stones with ancient inscriptions about Truth. There are different stones, different signs of inscriptions, but they are all about the same Truth.
44. Mountain lake. Baralacha Pass (Mountain Lake. Bara-Lacha Pass)
1944 State Russian Museum. Russia. Saint Petersburg. Canvas, tempera. 61 x 123 cm.
“Mountain Lake” (1944) - everyone is surprised in this masterful work by the inexpressibly transparent violet-golden radiance of the mirror-like surface of the water, as if life-giving and fertile. What other artist could capture such a blessing in mountain nature? Above are rainbow stripes of snowy slopes, the greenish-scarlet sky harmonizing so well with the tone of the lake.
45. Brahmaputra
1945 State Museum of Oriental Art. Russia. Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 41 x 103 cm
The painting depicts the sacred river of India, which originates from the great Lake Manasarovar - Lake Naga. Bramaputra means Son of Brahma. Approaching the Bramaputra during the trans-Himalayan expedition, N.K. Roerich wrote in his diary: “The wise Rigveda was born here, sacred Kailash is close here, where pilgrims go, sensing what a great path these places lie on... Among the rocks and sands , the Bramaputra flows in lilac and purple tones... She is even more respected than the Blue River. The Blue Yangtze River is the longest river in the world, but the Bramaputra is the son of Brahma, covered in a rich pattern of legends. It connects the sacred bed of the Ganges with the Himalayas, and Manasarovar is close to the Sutlej and the beginning of the Great Indus. Aryavarta also originated there... Approaching the Bramaputra, one can find even more legends associated with Shambhala. And one more circumstance gives these places an even more amazing impression: here in the direction of Everest lived a seer- the hermit Milarepa listening to the voices of the Devas before sunrise.Closer to the Shigatse region on the picturesque banks of the Bramaputra and towards the sacred lake Manasarovar, until quite recently there were Ashrams of the Mahatmas of the Himalayas. When you know this, when you know the facts surrounding these wonderful places, a special feeling fills you. Elderly people still live here who remember their personal meetings with the Mahatmas." (N.K. Roerich. Altai-Himalayas).
N.V. URIKOVA Description of 100 paintings by N.K. Roerich and 5 by S.N. Roerich
In the unforgettable sketch “Brahmaputra” (1945): the river, meandering, shines in the dawn rays of the sunrise, as if it flows from one morning to another, blissful morning.
R. RUDZITIS Cosmic strings in the works of Nicholas Roerich
46. Nanda Devi (Himalayas)
1937 State Museum of Oriental Art. Russia Moscow. Canvas, tempera. 44 x 78 cm.
Let us remember the myth “On the Origin of Mountains”. When the planetary Creator worked on the design of the firmament, he turned his attention to the fertile plains, which could give people quiet arable farming. But the Mother of the World said: “True, people will find both bread and trade on the plains, but when gold pollutes the plains, where will the pure in spirit go to strengthen themselves? Either let them receive wings, or let them be given mountains to escape the gold.” And the Creator answered: “It’s too early to give wings, they will bring death and destruction upon them, but we will give them mountains. Some may fear them, but for others they will be salvation.” This is how people on the plains and on the mountains differ.
Fiery World. II, 5
Something calling, indomitably attracting fills the human spirit when, overcoming all difficulties, it ascends to these heights. And the difficulties themselves, sometimes very dangerous, become only the most necessary and desirable steps, achieved only by overcoming earthly conventions. All the dangerous bamboo crossings through thundering mountain streams, all the slippery steps of centuries-old glaciers over disastrous abysses, all the inevitable descents before the next ascents and the whirlwind, and hunger, and cold, and heat are overcome where the cup of discoveries is full.
A. Yufereva, A. Lukasheva “N. Roerich", M., 1970
« Mountains, mountains! What kind of magnetism is hidden in you! What a symbol of tranquility lies in each sparkling peak. The bravest legends are born near the mountains. The most humane words come from the snowy heights.”
N.K. Roerich. Light up your hearts, pp. 157-159, M., 1978
47. Himalayas (Blue Mountains)
1939 State Russian Museum. Russia. Saint Petersburg. Canvas, tempera. 47 x 79 cm
When Roerich first came to the kingdom of the Himalayas, a majestic symphony of dazzling peaks opened before him in fabulous beauty, and above them - indescribably transparent azure distances. He walked like an “enchanted wanderer,” as if through a long-familiar fairyland. Everything seemed so close to his heart, as if in long-ago previous lives he had been an inhabitant of these majestic places.
Grandiose, massive, snow-covered mountain ranges, above which they move in the clouds, shimmer with all the colors of the rainbow, streams of light flow. The air itself is infinitely transparent, shining, ringing. And the silence of the peaks, in which you begin to hear yourself, the beating of your heart, perhaps even melodic sounds.
R. RUDZITIS Cosmic strings in the works of Nicholas Roerich
48. Two Worlds (Mountain of Five Treasures)
1933 Series Holy Mountains (composed in 1933). Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA, New York. Canvas, tempera. 46.8 x 78.8 cm
N.K. Roerich. Himawat
Kang-chen-tsod-nga - Five Treasures of the Great Snows. Why is this majestic mountain called so? She keeps the five treasures of the world. What are these treasures? - gold, diamonds, rubies? No. The Old East values other treasures. It is said: the time will come when famine will cover the whole world. Then Someone will appear who will open great treasuries and nourish all humanity. Of course, you understand that Someone will feed humanity not with physical, but with spiritual food.
N. Roerich. Heart of Asia. Fenugreek
49. Himalayas No. 93 [Kanchenjunga]
1936 Nicholas Roerich Museum, USA, New York. Cardboard, tempera. 60.5 x 99 cm
“There is the entrance to the sacred country of Shambhala. Through underground caves through amazing ice caves, a select few, even in this life, reached the sacred place. All wisdom, all glory, all splendor are collected there... Kan-chen-tszond-nga - five treasures of the Great Snows . Why is this majestic mountain called so? It stores the five treasures of the World. What are these treasures? Gold, diamonds, rubies? No, the old East values other treasures. It is said: “The time will come when hunger will sweep the whole world. Then someone will appear who will open great treasuries and feed all of humanity." Of course, not with physical, but with spiritual food... On the way up to the top there are many caves of Kanchenjunga. In one of the caves there is a statue of Padma Sambhava - the Great Teacher of Tibet, and behind it you can see stone door - never opened by anyone...
N.K. Roerich. Altai-Himalayas, Heart of Asia
“Nowhere is there such sparkling, such spiritual richness as among these precious snows... Great hermits went here, for where can you rise from tropical vegetation to eternal snow in two transitions? All stages of tension of consciousness are here...
At altitudes of 11 thousand feet, the subtle body acquires a special quality. As altitude increases, the amount of food decreases and sleep decreases. Mountains are the beginning that leads out of the lower earthly conditions, from the ordinary requirements of the Earth. For earthly bodies, every thousand meters lifts into special conditions. Mountain conditions cannot be artificially reduced to earthly habits."
50. Kanchenjunga
1938 National Gallery of Foreign Art. Bulgaria, Sofia. Canvas, tempera. 45.7 x 78.7 cm
The Himalayan sketches of Nicholas Roerich are a unique phenomenon in world art. They revealed to us the beauty of the mountain world of the East, the spirit of the Himalayas, where the Cosmos merges with the planet in a single stream.
Nicholas Roerich created paintings from the “Himalayas” series for many years, including hiking conditions Central Asian expedition, which dictated their small format and tempera technique of execution. They are a kind of picturesque pages of a travel diary, where real Himalayan landscapes are filled with the spiritual experience of the artist.
People in all parts of the world want to know about the Himalayas. The best people heartily strive for this treasure of India. At all times there has been an attraction to the Himalayas. People know that anyone seeking spiritual ascent should look towards the Himalayas.
N.K. Roerich. Himawat
Collected together, the Himalayan sketches of Nikolai Konstantinovich leave an unforgettable feeling. ... The mountains in Roerich’s sketches are woven from some special substance - vibrating, luminous, iridescent, inexplicably changeable, differently rhythmically organized. Like waves of the music of the spheres, stopped above, in front of the heavy, downward blackness of the foreground, they look at us.
51. Sacred Himalayas
1934 (1932)
The Himalayan sketches of Nicholas Roerich are a unique phenomenon in world art. They revealed to us the beauty of the mountain world of the East, the spirit of the Himalayas, where the Cosmos merges with the planet in a single stream.
Nicholas Roerich created the paintings of the “Himalayas” series over many years, including during the field conditions of the Central Asian expedition, which dictated their small format and tempera technique of execution. They are a kind of picturesque pages of a travel diary, where real Himalayan landscapes are filled with the spiritual experience of the artist.
People in all parts of the world want to know about the Himalayas. The best people heartily strive for this treasure of India. At all times there has been an attraction to the Himalayas. People know that anyone seeking spiritual ascent should look towards the Himalayas.
N.K. Roerich. HimawatNICHOLAY KONSTANTINOVICH ROERICH (1874-1947)
Artist (painter, graphic artist, theater artist, monumentalist, teacher), writer, poet, philosopher, major artist, archaeologist, traveler, entrepreneur, public figure.
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on September 27 (October 9), 1874 in St. Petersburg. He graduated from the famous K. May gymnasium. Since 1893, he simultaneously studied at the Academy of Arts (workshop of A.I. Kuindzhi) and at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, while simultaneously attending lectures at the Faculty of History.
While still a high school student, he became interested in hunting in the vicinity of his father’s estate in Izvara (now the Volosovsky district of the Leningrad region) and began publishing naturalist notes in newspapers and magazines. During his student years, he began to write hunting stories, fairy tales, parables and blank verses with spiritual and philosophical content.
During the same period, he became seriously interested in archeology and year after year he conducts excavations of burial mounds in the St. Petersburg, Novgorod and Tver provinces. During summer archaeological expeditions he records folklore, which had a profound influence on the style of the young writer.
In 1897 he defended with honors thesis at the Academy (the painting “The Messenger” was immediately acquired by P.M. Tretyakov) with an incentive prize in the form of a trip to the art centers of Western Europe. In 1898 he graduated from the University and became deputy editor-in-chief of the journal of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts “Art and the Art Industry”.
In 1900, he completed his artistic education in Paris, in the workshops of Puvis de Chavannes and Cormon.
In 1901, he married Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova and received the position of secretary of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.
In the summer of 1902, while excavating mounds on Lake Piros, he made one of his most striking archaeological discoveries - he discovered hundreds of figured amber jewelry, indicating the high artistic culture of the Neolithic period in the Novgorod and Tver provinces. In 1905, at an archaeological congress in France, he made a report on these materials, which caused a sensational effect.
N.K. Roerich.
They are building boats.
1903.
N.K. Roerich.
Dove book.
1923.
N.K. Roerich.
Yaroslavl. Entrance to the Church of St. Nicholas the Mokroy. 1903.
Since 1902, he has become a truly famous artist, taking part in all major exhibitions in Russia and Western Europe, where his works regularly receive medals.
In 1903-1904 he traveled through more than forty ancient Russian cities. On these trips, he created a large series of sketches that captured the architectural monuments of Rus', and constituted an entire chronicle of ancient Russian architecture.
In 1905, he began collaborating with N.B. Drizen’s Ancient Theater and within a few years became one of the most prominent theater artists in Russia.
In 1906 he was elected a permanent member of the Paris Autumn Salon.
In the same year, he took the post of director of the Art School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and began to radically reorganize it. In just a few years, according to A. Benois, he performed a “miracle”, transforming a run-of-the-mill applied school into an exemplary art educational institution, which today bears his name. He himself is actively involved in teaching.
Since 1909, he has taken part in the Russian Seasons in Paris of S.P. Diaghilev, where the artist has had great success.
In 1910, he was elected chairman of the main Russian art association “World of Art”. In the summer of the same year, he made another outstanding archaeological discovery - he discovered the remains of the Kremlin and urban development of Ancient Novgorod, which laid the foundation for subsequent work.
N.K. Roerich.
Sacred gift.
1924.
N.K. Roerich.
Zoroaster.
1931.
N.K. Roerich.
Flowers of Timur (Lights of Victory)
1931.
In 1912 he entered into collaboration with I.F. Stravinsky. Offers him the idea of the ballet “The Rite of Spring”, writes the libretto, develops sketches of scenery and costumes. Takes an active part in the work of many organizations related to the protection of architectural monuments, their restoration, the struggle for the purity of the national language, the promotion of applied arts on a traditional basis, etc. Successfully tries his hand as an architect, taking part and winning a competition to design a church for the imperial estate in Skierniewice (Poland). In subsequent years he creates several projects Orthodox churches and chapels in different parts of the planet. More than once he acts as a monumentalist, creating church paintings and mosaics, secular paintings, mosaic and majolica panels, and writing an entire iconostasis for one of the Perm churches.
In 1914, shocked by the events of the First World War, he came before the governments of the warring parties with the initiative to conclude an international agreement on the special protection of human cultural monuments from destruction during wars.
Gradually, from a deep interest in folklore and Christian mysticism, he comes to a passion for Theosophy and acquires his own extraordinary spiritual experience.
In 1916, due to deteriorating health (chronic pneumonia), he moved with his wife and both sons to Karelia, from where, across the Gulf of Finland, he had the opportunity to visit St. Petersburg if necessary. He works a lot as an artist, writes articles, poems, the psychological-autobiographical story “Flame”, under the heavy impression of revolutionary events - the play “Mercy”. Develops a plan to transform the Art School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts into the Free People's Academy of Arts. Together with the separation of Finland from Russia, he ends up abroad. Holds personal exhibitions in the capitals of Scandinavian countries. In 1919 he went to London, hoping to get from there to India. Together with his wife, he joined the Theosophical Society founded by H. P. Blavatsky.
In 1920, at the invitation of American artists, he went to New York. For two and a half years in the United States, his traveling personal exhibition travels to dozens of major cities. Visits the naturally and culturally unique Southwestern region of the United States - Arizona and New Mexico. He records many spiritually inspired messages, selected passages from which make up the book “Leaves of the Garden of Moria.” Call". It became the first volume of the series “Teaching of Living Ethics”, or “Agni Yoga”.
N.K. Roerich.
Evening call. Lahul.
1931.
N.K. Roerich.
Island of relaxation.
1937.
N.K. Roerich.
Temple. Lahul.
1931.
In 1921, in Berlin, he published a collection of blank verses, “Flowers of Moria,” which vividly and deeply reflects the whole epic of man’s spiritual quest. Forms around himself a close circle of devoted associates, with the help of which he creates a number of organizations: the International Center for the Arts "Corona Mundi" ("Crown of the World"), the Roerich Art Museum, the Institute of United Arts, the art association "Kor Ardens" ("Fiery Heart") . Develops museum, exhibition, publishing, art and educational activities. With the help of the same people, one after another, he begins many entrepreneurial projects related to the trade in works of art, postal services, and in subsequent years (in Altai and northern China) food production and mining.
In 1923, he sought US support for his idea of a large Central Asian expedition and went with his wife to Paris, and from there he and his sons went to India. Visits the international center of the Theosophical Society in Adyar (Madras), where he founded the art museum named after H. P. Blavatsky. In 1924, he undertook scientific and artistic expeditions to Sikkim and Bhutan.
In 1925-28, he organized and conducted an unprecedentedly long and wide-ranging expedition through Central Asia, including the Himalayas, Tibet, northwestern China and the Altai Mountains, with a short visit to Moscow. As a result of the expedition, he created the Urusvati Himalayan Institute of Scientific Research in Sikkim (a scientific institution at the Roerich Museum in New York), and soon acquired an estate in the Kullu Valley (northern Punjab), where he transferred the institute.
In 1929, he visited Europe and America with the results of the expedition and the development of a draft international treaty for the protection of cultural property (primarily architectural monuments) in cases of military conflicts, which he calls the Pact of the Banner of Peace and the “Red Cross of Culture” and which quickly receives the broadest international support.
Since the early 1920s, he has been creating an extensive gallery of artistic images of the most prominent figures in the religious and mystical culture of mankind.
He constantly appears in print with articles, features and essays of a cultural, spiritual and educational nature. Book after book, he publishes collections of his works, designed to form among the general public a conscious need for beauty and a special attitude towards art and culture, as well as advanced science, radically expanding the horizons of knowledge, and the spiritual culture of humanity, immeasurably enriching and ennobling life.
N.K. Roerich.
Yuen-Kang.
1937.
N.K. Roerich.
Great Wall.
1936.
He supports the formation in dozens of countries of cultural and educational societies based on his ideas, which make up the entire Roerich movement (along with the American Roerich Center in New York, the European Center of Roerich Societies is emerging in Paris).
In an attempt to prevent future political cataclysms, since the mid-1920s, as one of the most prominent cultural figures of our time, he regularly meets with senior statesmen of the leading countries of the world (USA, USSR, Japan). However, it turns out that the ideas of reorganizing the world on the basis of spiritual and cultural values in the first half of the 20th century cannot yet be taken seriously by politicians of powerful powers.
In 1931-33, as part of the work of the Urusvati Institute, he conducted a number of ethnographic and botanical expeditions to the Himalayan regions bordering the Kullu Valley.
On April 15, 1935, in Washington, the United States and 20 Latin American countries signed the “Treaty for the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments,” called the Roerich Pact. As a person who has long shared the ideas of the Eurasian role of Russia and pan-Mongolism, widespread among the Russian intelligentsia of the early 20th century, and as a result of analyzing the real trends in the development of the world political process, as well as being attentive to the prophecies collected in the Central Asian expedition, he comes to the conclusion that the mid-1930s years with a high degree of probability should be marked by the gradual unfolding of the process of “unification of Asia”, which will begin with Mongolia, Manchuria, northern China and southern and southeastern Siberia. Wanting, if possible, to take an active part in this process, he organized through the American Agricultural Department and conducted a long-term expedition to Manchuria and northern China in 1935-36. Here, in addition to scientific expeditionary work, he is most active among the large Far Eastern Russian emigration, and therefore quickly becomes a very noticeable cultural leader. This, on the one hand, causes strong dissatisfaction with the US federal authorities, on whose behalf and at whose expense the expedition was carried out, which ultimately leads to suspicion of anti-American activities and a complete break. On the other hand, this attracts the close attention of the White Guard counterintelligence, which quickly establishes the fact of the artist’s visit to the capital of Soviet Russia and his theosophical hobbies, from which the loudest scandal in the press is inflated.
N.K. Roerich.
Bhagavan.
1943.
N.K. Roerich.
Teacher's order.
1947.
By the end of 1935, having fallen into disgrace with the American government, he lost the support of Minister G. Wallace and businessman L. Horsch, which led to the destruction of the activities of Roerich institutions in the USA.
In 1936, he was forced to leave the Far East, where the expected events never happened, and lived permanently in Kullu, where he was engaged in intensive creative work as an artist and philosopher (development of a fundamental theory of culture, ethics and aesthetics). Continues the fundamental epic of essays in the “My Life” series, begun in 1934-35. Creates a huge gallery of several hundred small, but bright and impressive in color and imagery, high-mountain “landscapes”, which, in fact, are an entire anthology of the widest range of subtle states of nature and sublime states of the human soul that literally fascinate the viewer.
During the Great Patriotic War 1941-45 holds personal art exhibitions in India with the sale of paintings in favor of the Red Army and the Soviet Red Cross. Constantly appears in print with articles in support of the USSR in its war against Nazi fascism; takes the initiative to create and becomes honorary president of the American-Russian Cultural Association (ARCA) in New York. At the end of the war, he takes steps to return to his homeland.
On December 13, 1947, he died at his estate in the Kullu Valley, where he was solemnly cremated. The inscription on the stone installed at the cremation site reads: “The body of Maharishi Nicholas Roerich, the great friend of India, was burnt at this place on the 30th Maghar of the Vikram era 2004, corresponding to December 15, 1947.” OM RAM."
As a result of his creative life, N.K. Roerich left to his descendants a rich artistic, literary, spiritual, philosophical and scientific heritage, which gave rise to a fairly broad international spiritual and cultural movement. Today, Roerich public organizations operate in Russia, many countries in Europe, Asia, and also in Australia. There are dozens of Roerich societies in Russia.
The Roerich Pact formed the basis of the current international legislation for the protection of cultural property.
The Nicholas Roerich Museum, founded by E.I. Roerich and her associates K. Campbell-Stibbe and Z. G. Fosdick, has been operating in New York since 1949 to the present day.
At the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, on the basis of collections received from K. Campbell-Stibbe and S.N. Roerich, the Memorial Cabinet of N.K. Roerich, the permanent exhibition “Creativity of N.K. and S.N. Roerichs" and the scientific department "Heritage of the Roerichs".
ELENA IVANOVNA ROERICH (1879-1955)
Philosopher, spiritual ascetic, traveler, public figure.
Elena Ivanovna Roerich (née Shaposhnikova) was born on January 31 (February 12), 1879 in St. Petersburg.
In 1895-1899 she studied at the music school at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.
In 1899 she met and in 1901 married N.K. Roerich. She is actively involved in all her husband’s affairs, and, in particular, takes an active part in his archaeological expeditions.
In 1902, she gave birth to her eldest son, the future orientalist, Yuri.
In 1903-1904 he took part in N.K. Roerich’s great journey through ancient Russian cities, where he photographed monuments of medieval architecture.
In 1904, she gave birth to her youngest son, the future artist, Svyatoslav.
Since childhood, he has been an extremely mystically gifted person, who is periodically visited by visions and prophetic dreams, most closely delves into the study of the works of Christian ascetics, and then the spiritual heritage of the peoples of the East.
In 1916, due to her husband’s illness, she moved to live in Karelia.
In 1919 he went to London, where, together with N.K. Roerich, he joined the Theosophical Society founded by H.P. Blavatsky. Together with her eldest son Yuri, she takes an in-depth part in her husband’s esoteric experiments and work.
In 1920 he moved to New York, where he actively supported N.K. Roerich in his work to create a number of cultural and educational organizations and form around him a close esoteric circle of people who were spiritually close and devoted to his ideas. She herself experiences a highly intense upsurge of inner spiritual and mystical life.
In 1923, together with her husband and eldest son, she sailed to India. She takes over from her husband the “relay race” of recording spiritual messages and instructions from above, which change their generalized spiritual and poetic character to a more meaningful and didactically applied one.
He keeps a constant “diary” of these records, from which he begins, one after another, to compile collections of selected fragments, which over two decades have compiled a series of books on the Teachings of Agni Yoga, or Living Ethics. At the same time, she gradually goes through the direct experience of practical mastery of the received Teaching, which is expressed in a long and complex psycho-physical transformation of the body, which she herself calls “fiery experience”.
In 1925-1928 he took part in the large Central Asian Expedition of N.K. Roerich. He writes the book “Fundamentals of Buddhism”, which becomes the first publication of the first Mongolian printing house in Urga (Ulaanbaatar), and was subsequently recognized by the largest Buddhist association in India “Maha-Bodhi” as the best short popular introduction to the teachings of Gautama Buddha.
Since 1928, he has lived on the estate purchased by N.K. Roerich in the high-mountain Himalayan valley of Kullu. Year after year he compiles books in the “Agni Yoga” series, which are published in Paris and then in Riga. He maintains extensive correspondence with the leaders of the Roerich societies and followers of the Teaching of Living Ethics who have appeared all over the world. By 1940, she agreed to the publication of two volumes of selected passages from these letters, carefully selected by her students. Translates into Russian and in 1940 publishes in Riga the main fundamental two-volume work of E.P. Blavatsky "The Secret Doctrine".
Cover of the book “Fundamentals of Buddhism.”
1926
Cover of the book "Community".
1926
Cover of the book "AUM".
1936
In 1947, after the death of N.K. Roerich, he unsuccessfully tried to return to his homeland together with his eldest son Yu.N. Roerich. Settles in Kalimpong (northern India).
Contributes to the opening of the N.K. Roerich Museum in New York in 1949, becomes its honorary president and provides constant management of its activities. It moves into an extremely deep and intense phase of psycho-spiritual and psycho-physical life, which it itself calls “cosmic cooperation” and is difficult to describe verbally.
On October 5, 1955 he passed away. Soon, a Buddhist stupa was built at the site where her body was cremated, around which a monastery subsequently grew.
Helena Roerich left a rich spiritual heritage, which, combined with the legacy of Nicholas Roerich, gave birth to a very broad spiritual and cultural movement, now widespread throughout the world.
YURI NIKOLAEVICH ROERICH (1902-1960)
Scientist, orientalist, linguist, researcher of Central Asia.
The birth of Yuri Nikolaevich Roerich is associated with unusual circumstances. It happened far from St. Petersburg, where his parents lived: his father, the artist N.K. Roerich, and his mother, E.I. Roerich, namely, in the town of Okulovka, Novgorod province. This event occurred on August 16, 1902, during a scientific and artistic expedition. N.K. Roerich painted pictures and was engaged in archaeological excavations, and his wife took photographs of objects.
Since childhood, Yu.R. inherited artistic talent from his father. In his first drawings, he depicted military battles, medieval knights, and ancient fortresses. A large series of graphic drawings was called “In the Castle” (1916). At the same time, he turns to the oriental theme, illustrating scenes from the fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights”. In youth, an interest in history and languages comes. Despite his penchant for painting, Yu.R. makes a choice in favor of Orientalism. In Finland, where the Roerich family settled for a time in connection with the revolutionary events in Russia, the young man begins to study the history of Oriental literature, independently compiling notes entitled “Notes on Oriental Studies” (1918). He takes lessons in the Mongolian language from the famous Russian Mongolist AD. Rudnev, who lived next door.
Upon the family’s arrival to live in London, Yu.R. enters the School of Oriental Languages at the University of London. In the 1919-20 academic year, he completed a course in the Indo-Iranian department with the famous orientalist Denison Ross. Imitating his parents, who take an active part in the activities of the Russian-British Brotherhood, which provided support to Russian refugees, Yu.R. is also included in public life. He initiated the formation of the “Russian Youth Circle in London”. The task of this organization is to promote communication between Russian youth in exile. At the meetings of the circle, lectures and conversations were held on scientific and artistic topics. Among the speakers are such prominent figures as N.K. Roerich, P.N. Milyukov and others. The first public report in his life was made by Yu.R. himself, it was called “The Origins of Russian Art.”
Since the second year Yu.R. transferred to Harvard University (USA) and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Indian philology. Classes at Harvard determined the professional path of the young man, who studied with the famous Indologist Charles Lanman. Since prof. Lanman specialized in Vedic and Buddhist literature, Yu.R. also undertakes translations of ancient Indian texts. He translates into Russian the “Isha”, “Katha” and “Chhandogya” Upanishads, as well as the “Garland Jataka”, a composition based on legends about the previous births of the Buddha. In addition to language classes, Yu.R. fascinated by the history of nomads and Scythian art. At Harvard he listens to lectures from the Russian emigrant Prof. Mikhail Rostovtsev about “Central Asian influences on the art of southern Russia.” Scientifically, a stable, serious interest is being formed in the problem of the Tocharian tribes that lived from the 6th to the 3rd centuries. BC, in the Pamir-Ghibet region.
In 1922 Yu.R. leaves for France to write his doctoral dissertation at the University of Paris. Dissertation by Yu.R. dedicated to the Tocharians. Studying at the Sorbonne allows you to acquire a broad scientific outlook. The young scientist published a series of articles in the Parisian journal La Vie des Peuples (1922-1923), and was soon elected to membership in the Linguistic Society. The apotheosis of scientific work in France was the article “The Rise of Orientalism” (1923), which formulated the idea of creating a “General History of the East.”
Cover of the book by Yu.N. Roerich
"Tibetan painting".
Cover of the book by Yu.N. Roerich
"On the paths of Central Asia"
in French.
In the fall of 1923, Yu.R. together with his parents he goes to India, from where he is expected to begin a long journey into the depths of Asia. For more than a year, the Roerich family lived in Darjeeling, on the border with Tibet. From there, short trips to monasteries are made to study Buddhist culture. Yu.R. gains practical skills in learning languages. Soon releases its first treatise"Tibetan Painting" (1925), which becomes innovative in the field of European study of Buddhist iconography.
In 1925, the first Central Asian expedition of Acad. N.K. Roerich, who laid out the route first through Little Tibet, Chinese Turkestan, then through Mongolia, Tibet and the Trans-Himalayas. Yu.R. is part of the expeditionary detachment as the head of security. The journey lasted almost three years. The results of the expedition exceeded expectations. Yu.R. becomes a recognized scientist thanks to the publication of his books in English, French and Russian - the expedition diary “On the Paths of Central Asia” (1931) and the monograph “Animal Style among the Nomads of Northern Tibet” (1930). The latest work was a continuation of the research of prof. Rostovtsev about the “animal style” in China and Mongolia.
Another important result of the expedition was the establishment of the Urusvati Institute of Himalayan Research in the Kullu Valley. The activities of the Urusvati Institute (1928-1942) were aimed at studying the flora and fauna of the Himalaya region. The main task was to conduct botanical and ornithological expeditions to Little Tibet (1931-1932) and collect linguistic and ethnographic material in the valleys of Lahul and Spiti.
Further activities of Yu.R. as a scientist takes place within the framework of the Urusvati Institute. The founders of the institute, which officially existed at the N.K. Roerich Museum in New York, on Yu.R. assigned the position of director. The institute developed its greatest activity in the early 1930s. At this time, Yu.R. writes a series scientific articles, dedicated to the nomadic tribes, peoples and cultures of Central Asia - “Alan squads in the Mongol era”, “Goloka and their ethnic character”, etc., is working on a “Tibetan-Russian-English dictionary with Sanskrit parallels”.
The Institute organized the publication of its own magazine “Urusvati”, the chief editor of which was Yu.R. This magazine published detailed annual reports on the work of the institute (1931-1933), compiled by its director. The value of the reports is that they highlight the current work of the scientific institution, give a detailed description of the local expeditions that laid the foundation for the practical study of the Himalayan region by Western scientists, and show the institute’s connections with major universities, libraries, museums in India, Europe and America.
In the mid-1930s. Yu.R. goes to the Far East as part of the Manchurian Expedition of N.K. Roerich, sent by the Department Agriculture USA for collecting seeds of drought-resistant cereals and grasses. He is responsible for the responsible organizational work of the deputy leader of the expedition. Being a specialist in the Tibetan pharmacopoeia, Yu.R. visited several Buddhist monasteries in Northern Manchuria and Inner Mongolia, copied sacred texts by hand, among which the medical treatise “Materia Medica” was especially noted. The Tibetan manuscript contained ancient herbal recipes. During the expedition, a “Chinese-Latin-Japanese dictionary of medicinal plants growing in Manchuria” was compiled.
In the 1940s and the first half of the 1950s. - a period of relative calm in the activities of Roerich’s scientific and cultural institutions, Yu.R. focuses on scientific work. At this time, his full creative potential is fully revealed. He is busy preparing a classic work on the history of Buddhism in Tibet, The Blue Chronicle. This work is English language published by the Asiatic Society, Calcutta (1949). The translation into Russian was published in the year of the scientist’s centenary. In addition, studies are published in India: “Towards the Study of Kalachakra”, “Indology in Russia”, “Dialects of Lahaul”.
In 1957 Yu.R. returned from India to his homeland, actually from a long emigration. He took the position of head of the sector of philosophy and history of religion in India at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Moscow. The specific nature of oriental work in the Soviet Union presented a huge difficulty for a world-famous scientist. However, Yu.R. included in scientific and social life. He continues to be actively engaged in scientific research, gives lectures, teaches oriental languages to undergraduate and graduate students, reviews numerous works, in particular, acted as a scientific editor of several volumes of the ancient Indian epic "Mahabharata" (translation by B.L. Smirnov) and the Buddhist canon "Dhammapada" (translation by V.N. Toporov).
Yu.R. died suddenly in Moscow on May 21, 1960. Three years of work at the Institute of Oriental Studies turned out to be fruitful. Yu.R. made a huge contribution to the reconstruction of the Tibetological school, destroyed during the period of Stalinist repressions. He prepared for publication the monograph “Tibetan Language” (1961), and completed the unparalleled work “History of Central Asia,” which reflected the scientist’s thoughts expressed at the dawn of his scientific career in the article “The Rise of Orientalism.”
Return of Yu.R. to his homeland is definitely connected with the completion of the mission of his father N.K. Roerich. Hundreds of paintings by the Russian artist were brought to the USSR, adding to the collections of the Russian Museum and the Novosibirsk Art Gallery. Art exhibitions in Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Riga and other cities of the Soviet Union, organized with the direct participation of Yu.R., aroused a wave of interest in the work of N.K. Roerich and enriched Russian culture.
SVYATOSLAV NIKOLAEVICH ROERICH (1904-1993)
Artist, cultural figure, collector of oriental art, public figure.
Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich was born on October 23, 1904 in St. Petersburg. Following family tradition, from 1914 to 1916 studies at the K. May gymnasium. He received his first drawing lessons from his father, N.K. Roerich. Since childhood, he has been interested in biology and began collecting botanical collections. In Finland, where the Roerichs moved in December 1916, he works a lot on location, paints landscapes, and is interested in Eastern philosophy. Since the autumn of 1919, upon the family’s arrival in England, he has been helping his father in executing costume designs for the production of Russian operas (“The Snow Maiden”, “Prince Igor”) in London’s Covent Garden. He is preparing to enter the University of London, taking a special course in architecture.
In 1920 he moved with his parents to the USA. As an external student, he takes exams for two courses in the architectural department of Columbia University and receives a bachelor's degree. In 1921 he entered the architectural school at Harvard University, while simultaneously taking courses in sculpture at the sculpture department of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In-depth studies the history of Western European art, comprehends the skills of Renaissance artists - Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, studies technique- El Greco, Matisse, Gauguin.
At the age of 18, S.R. tries his hand at staging ballet. In collaboration with fellow students at Harvard University, he staged a modernist ballet on the theme of the struggle between good and evil called Light and Darkness. From mid-1922, he began working on sketches of stage costumes, and at the same time created a series of portraits, which were exhibited at an exhibition of Russian artists in the USA. Famous American dancers R. Page, A. Vitak become his models. In 1923, at an exhibition of foreign art in New York, he presented a series of illustrations to oriental fairy tales.
From November 1923 to September 1924 S.R. traveled to India, visited the Eastern Himalayas, border states - Nepal and Bhutan. I started collecting a collection of oriental art. He painted a large series of paintings - more than a hundred portraits of local types - pilgrims, pilgrims living in remote areas of Tibet. During the trip, he became interested in local folklore, and showed particular interest in Tibetan music and drama. After returning to the USA during 1924-1927. presented these works in the country's leading galleries.
In 1928 S.R. travels to Darjeeling, where he joins family returning from the Central Asian expedition. Creatively, he is mainly busy painting portraits. Since 1929 he became vice-president of the museum N.K. Roerich in New York. Manages the exhibition activities of the International Center for the Arts “Corona Mundi” (“Crown of Peace”). At the New York Museum, at an exhibition dedicated to the 55th anniversary of N.K. Roerich, he presents his best works.
After completing his studies in America, S.R. finally moves to India, settles on the Kullu estate. Included in the activities of N.K., founded in 1928. Roerich of the Urusvati Institute of Himalayan Studies. Heads the department of pharmacopoeia, flora and fauna. He studies the properties of local plants and studies Tibetan medicine. Later, in 1932-1935. organizes expeditions to the nearby Tibetan highlands to collect seeds of medicinal plants, distributes them, and establishes correspondence with prominent scientists from around the world.
S.N. Roerich.
Karma Dorje.
1974.
S.N. Roerich.
Devika Rani Roerich.
1946.
S.N. Roerich.
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
1942.
During this period, S.R. actively engaged in painting, works in various genres of fine art. Constantly traveling, he discovers new areas of India and reproduces the most striking scenes in his canvases. Visits Indian principalities, paints portraits of rajas. In 1933-1937 creates a series of portraits of his father, N.K. Roerich, paints a half-length portrait of his mother, E.I. Roerich, amazing in beauty and sophistication. These and other works of his are exhibited in America and Europe, some of them are acquired by large museum collections. The artist is organizing a show of his new paintings in a number of Indian cities.
Since the mid-1930s. The artist’s work contains biblical motifs (“Jacob’s Wrestling with the Angel”), and works with scenes from the New Testament (“Like Old Times,” “The Good Samaritan”) appear.
In 1940, his personal exhibition was held in the USA, and at the same time a large exhibition was organized in India. State of India Museum Sri Chitralayam along with other paintings by S.R. purchased a portrait of N.K. Roerich. In 1941, the artist became involved in helping the Red Cross Foundation in the USSR. He gives lectures on art on All India Radio. During these years, the main themes of his works were heroism, the joy of achievement, the theme of liberation (the triptych “Crucified Humanity”). Like N.K. Roerich, in the paintings of S.R. This period features the theme of horsemen-messengers, symbolizing the message of victory.
S.N. Roerich.
Triptych. Liberation.
1939-1942.
S.N. Roerich.
Triptych. Crucified humanity.
1939-1942.
S.N. Roerich.
Triptych. Where are you going, humanity?
1939-1942.
In 1942, during his stay in Kullu, D. Nehru, S.R. paints his portraits (later, in 1965, specially commissioned by the Indian government, he creates one of the best portraits of D. Nehru for the central hall of parliament). In 1944, he met the Indian cinema star, an outstanding film actress, the grandniece of R. Tagore, Devika Rani, and in 1945 he married her. After the death of his father, in 1947, he moved to the south of India to Bangalore. Acquires a large plot of land and the Tatguni estate. He is engaged in the cultivation of essential oils, establishes contacts with European perfume companies in Europe - exports essential oils to France, Switzerland, and America.
After the death of his mother in 1955 and the return of brother Yuri to his homeland in 1957, S.R. continues to carry out the cultural and educational mission of the Roerich family abroad, mostly in India. In 1960, a large exhibition of his paintings was held in the halls of the All India Society of Arts in Delhi. K.E. Voroshilov, who visited the exhibition, invites him to come to the Soviet Union.
In May 1960, at the State Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin opens an exhibition of paintings by N.K. and S.N. Roerichov, later moved to Leningrad. In Moscow, during S.R.’s stay, his elder brother Yu. Roerich, a professor at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the USSR Academy of Sciences, suddenly passed away. In memory of brother S.R. dedicates the work to “Pieta” (the gospel theme of mourning Christ).
In the 1960s S.R. spends a lot of time in Naggar, studying the ancient culture of the Kullu Valley and the surrounding areas. Writes a monograph: “The Art of the Kullu Valley” (1967). His work during this period was especially saturated with light and bold color combinations. The unique beauty of India, glorified by the artist, acquires an increasingly perfect sound thanks to the juxtaposition of color contrasts, bright expression, and bold combination of colorful forms. In his paintings, he often addresses the theme of eternity, the cyclical nature of life, the theme of generational change (“Eternal Life”, “My Neighbors”, “These Colors Should Never Fade”, “Spring”). Of particular importance in creativity is the theme of the unity of all forms existing on earth, the relationship between man and nature (“Silence”, “Spring”, the cycle of works “The Sacred Flute”, “Woman from the Gaddi Tribe”, etc.). Thanks to the special intensity, the works glow, pulsate, they contain a living power that fascinates and raises thoughts into the spheres of comprehension of the Higher World.
In 1974, at the invitation of the USSR Academy of Arts, S.R. visits Moscow in connection with the 100th anniversary of the birth of N.K. Roerich and his 70th birthday. He brings home 282 paintings (122 works by N.K. Roerich) for exhibition throughout the country. During 1974-1976 The exhibition is a great success in Moscow, Leningrad, Novosibirsk, Ulan-Ude, Kemerovo, Minsk, Riga, Vilnius and other cities. For the first time, the Academy of Arts is hosting the first scientific conference dedicated to the work of the Roerich family. S.R. is present at meetings, answers questions related to the artistic and philosophical heritage of the family.
In December 1974, S.R. travels to Switzerland to conduct negotiations with the President of the New York Museum of Nicholas Roerich, Catherine Campbell-Stibbe, about the transfer to the USSR of paintings of the Russian architectural series belonging to her. As a result, K. Campbell donated about 100 paintings by N.K. to the State Museum of Oriental Art. and S.N. Roerichs, a collection of works of Oriental art from the collection of the Roerich family, some personal belongings, an archive and a library of rare publications. On the basis of this generous gift, the first permanent exhibition of the Roerichs’ work was opened in our country, and the N.K. Roerich Memorial Cabinet was created.
In 1976, for his outstanding contribution to the development of cooperation between India and the Soviet Union, S.R. awarded the International Prize named after D. Nehru. In 1978, an exhibition of paintings by N.K. and S.R. Roerichs are exhibited throughout the cities of Bulgaria throughout the year and return to Moscow again. S.R. elected honorary member of the Academy of Arts in Bulgaria. In 1978-1984. The traveling exhibition of paintings by the Roerichs continues to operate in the cities of the Soviet Union, and is seen by thousands of visitors. Contact with the artistic creativity of the Roerichs, as well as personal meetings with S.R. literally transform people’s consciousness, force many to look at life in a new way, evaluate it from the standpoint of moral and ethical principles. In the early 1990s. Roerich societies begin to be created, and the number of admirers of the Roerichs’ creative heritage increases every year.
S.N. Roerich.
Damodar Kund.
1943.
S.N. Roerich.
Lahul.Kardang.
1974.
In 1978 S.R. elected an honorary member of the USSR Academy of Arts. In 1981, he arrived at the invitation of the USSR Ministry of Culture and visited the Memorial Cabinet of N.K. Roerich. Becomes honorary chairman of the Commission for the Cultural and Artistic Heritage of the Roerich Family, created at the Museum of the East.
From the late 1970s - early 1980s. with the participation of S.R. Construction of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad art center begins in Bangalore. For several years S.R. He himself directly manages the construction process, just as an architect creates a building plan. Provides support to the Aurobindo Ghose School, which subsequently educates thousands of children (from two to fifteen years old).
In 1984, in connection with the celebration of the 110th anniversary of the birth of N.K. Roerich and his 80th birthday, he took part in anniversary events in Moscow. On October 23, a major exhibition of works by N.K. was inaugurated. and S.N. Roerichs in the State Museum of Oriental Art. S.R. holds a meeting with an audience of thousands in the central lecture hall of the Polytechnic Museum. In the same year he was awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples.
In 1987 S.R. comes to Moscow again. Meets with the President of the Soviet Union M.S. Gorbachev, who supports the idea of creating a state museum of N.K. Roerich in Russia. In the 1988-1990s. with the assistance of S.R. cultural organizations are established - “Peace through Culture”, “Soviet Roerich Fund”.
In 1989, I visited the Oriental Museum for the last time. During a conversation in the Memorial Office of N.K. Roerich S.R. expresses the will to transfer an exhibition of 282 paintings for permanent storage to the State Museum of Oriental Art.
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich belongs to the galaxy of outstanding figures of Russian and world culture. Artist, scientist, traveler, public figure, writer, thinker - his multifaceted talent is comparable in magnitude only to the titans of the Renaissance. Creative heritage of N.K. Roerich is enormous - more than seven thousand paintings scattered all over the world, countless literary works - books, essays, articles, diaries...
Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on October 9, 1874 in St. Petersburg in the family of the famous notary Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich.
From childhood he was attracted by painting, archeology, history and, above all, the richest cultural heritage East. All this, merged together, later gave an amazing result and made Nikolai Konstantinovich’s work unique and bright.
After graduating from the Karl May Gymnasium in 1893, Nicholas Roerich simultaneously entered the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University (graduated in 1898) and the Imperial Academy of Arts. Since 1895 he has been studying in the studio of the famous Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. At this time, he closely communicates with famous cultural figures of that time - V.V. Stasov, I.E. Repin, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D.V. Grigorovich, S.P. Diaghilev.
In 1897 N.K. Roerich graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and his diploma painting “The Messenger” was acquired by the famous collector of works of Russian art P.M. Tretyakov.
Already at the age of 24, Nikolai Konstantinovich became assistant director of the Museum of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and at the same time assistant editor of the art magazine “World of Art”.
In 1899, he met Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova, who became his faithful companion and spiritual ally for the rest of his life. Unity of views and deep mutual sympathy very quickly grew into strong and reverent feelings, and in October 1901 the young people got married. They will walk their entire lives hand in hand, complementing each other creatively and spiritually. Elena Ivanovna will share all the aspirations and undertakings of Nikolai Konstantinovich. In 1902, they had a son, Yuri, a future orientalist, and in 1904, Svyatoslav, who would choose the same path as his father.
In his books N.K. Roerich called Elena Ivanovna “an inspiration” and a “friend.” He showed her every new painting first and highly valued her artistic intuition and subtle taste. Many of the artist’s canvases were created based on the images, thoughts and creative insights of Elena Ivanovna. But her plans were not only in his paintings - it is difficult to name at least one area in N.K.’s activity. Roerich, wherever they were. Behind every creative action of Nikolai Konstantinovich, behind his poems and fairy tales, behind his paintings and trips, Elena Ivanovna will always stand. According to S.N. Roerich: “The collaboration of Nikolai Konstantinovich and Elena Ivanovna was a rare combination of full-sounding sound on all levels. Complementing each other, they seemed to merge in the richest harmony of intellectual and spiritual expression.”
In 1903 – 1904 N.K. Roerich and his wife travel through the ancient Russian cities of Russia. They visited more than 40 cities famous for their ancient monuments. The purpose of this “trip through the old days” was to study the roots of Russian culture. The result of the trip was not only a large series of paintings by the artist, but also the first articles by N.K. Roerich, in which he was one of the first to raise the question of the enormous artistic value of ancient Russian icon painting and architecture.
The artist’s works on religious themes, executed in the form of paintings and sketches of mosaics for Russian churches, also date back to this period.
The multifaceted talent of Nicholas Roerich was clearly demonstrated in his works for theatrical productions. During the famous “Russian Seasons” by S. Diaghilev, designed by N.K. Roerich performed “Polovtsian Dances” from “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “The Woman of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov, and the ballet “The Rite of Spring” to the music of Stravinsky. Thanks to Elena Ivanovna, Nikolai Konstantinovich became acquainted with the works of outstanding thinkers of India - Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, with the literary work of R. Tagore, together they studied the Upanishads.
Acquaintance with the philosophical thought of the East is reflected in the works of N.K. Roerich. If in the artist’s early paintings the defining subjects were ancient pagan Rus', colorful images of the folk epic, the pristine grandeur of the untouched natural elements (“The City is being Built,” “Idols,” “Overseas Guests,” etc.), then already from the mid-1900s years, the theme of India and the East is increasingly heard in his canvases and literary works.
In 1916, due to severe lung disease N.K. Roerich, at the insistence of his doctors, moved with his family to Finland (Serdobol), on the coast of Lake Ladoga. Proximity to Petrograd made it possible from time to time to travel to the city on the Neva and take care of the affairs of the School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. However, after the revolutionary events of 1917, Finland closed its borders with Russia and N.K. Roerich and his family found themselves cut off from their homeland.
In 1919, having received an invitation from Sweden, Nikolai Konstantinovich traveled with exhibitions to the countries of Scandinavia, and in the fall of the same year he accepted the invitation of S.P. Diaghilev to arrange Russian operas in London to the music of M.P. Mussorgsky and A.P. Borodin and leaves with his family for England.
In 1920 N.K. Roerich receives an offer from the director of the Art Institute of Chicago to organize a large exhibition tour of 30 US cities. Nikolai Konstantinovich accepts this invitation and leaves London with his family.
N.K. Roerich was one of those few thinkers of the 20th century who deeply understood the true meaning of Culture, its determining role in the development of mankind. “Culture rests on Beauty and Knowledge,” he wrote. And he repeated the famous phrase of Dostoevsky with a slight amendment: “Awareness of Beauty will save the world.” This formulation contains almost the entire meaning of cosmic evolution, which goes from chaos to order, from simple to complex, from system to Beauty. Beauty is known by man only through Culture, an integral part of which is creativity. This was also discussed in the books of Living Ethics, in the creation of which the Roerichs took a direct part. Elena Ivanovna wrote down, and Nikolai Konstantinovich perpetuated the cosmic ideas of Living Ethics in beautiful artistic images.
Embodying these ideas, N.K. Roerich launched extensive cultural and educational activities in America. In November 1921, the Master Institute of United Arts opened in New York, whose main goal was to bring peoples closer together through culture and art. Almost simultaneously with him, the association of artists “Cor Ardens” (“Burning Hearts”) was established in Chicago, and in 1922 the International Cultural Center “Corona Mundi” (“Crown of the World”) arose. In November 1923, the New York Museum of Nicholas Roerich opened its doors, containing a rich collection of paintings by the artist. The institutions founded by Nicholas Roerich became major centers of culture in America, uniting around them many prominent artists.
Then, in 1923, the master’s cherished dream came true - on December 2 N.K. Roerich and his family arrive in India. Here begins preparations for the most important journey in the life of the great artist - an expedition to the inaccessible regions of Central Asia. These areas have long attracted the attention of N.K. Roerich not only as an artist, but also as a scientist, who was interested in a number of problems related to the world migrations of ancient peoples and the search for a common source of Slavic and Indian cultures. In addition to purely scientific goals, the expedition had an important evolutionary task. The most difficult route of the expedition passed through Sikkim, Kashmir, Ladakh, China (Xinjiang), Russia (with a stop in Moscow), Siberia, Altai, Mongolia, Tibet, and through unexplored areas of the Trans-Himalaya. The significance and results of this unique expedition have not yet been adequately appreciated by modern geographical science. Meanwhile, having fulfilled the dream of Przhevalsky and Kozlov, the expedition of Nicholas Roerich was a triumph of Russian exploration of Central Asia. Based on the uniqueness of the route and the materials collected, it can rightfully claim a special place among the largest expeditions of the 20th century. The journey lasted from March 1925 to May 1928. For the first time, dozens of new mountain peaks and passes were marked on maps, archaeological sites were discovered, and rare manuscripts were found. A huge amount of scientific material was collected, books were written (“Heart of Asia”, “Altai - Himalayas”), about five hundred paintings were created in which the artist immortalized a special and amazing world, a world of sublime beauty.
At the end of the expedition in July 1928, N.K. Roerich founded the Institute of Himalayan Studies "Urusvati", which translated from Sanskrit means "Light of the Morning Star". There, in the Kullu Valley, in the Western Himalayas, Nikolai Konstantinovich and his family find their home. Here, in India, the last period of the artist’s life will pass.
In 1934 - 1935, Nicholas Roerich led an expedition to the regions of Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and China, organized by the US Department of Agriculture with the aim of studying drought-resistant plants. While he was on the expedition, the president of the New York Museum of Nicholas Roerich and confidant N.K. Roerich, American businessman Louis Horsch, having forged documents and slandered his Teacher, illegally took possession of a block of shares that belonged to the Museum and declared himself its owner. He secretly removes the paintings, some of which he keeps for himself. Most of the paintings were auctioned and still adorn private collections of American collectors. After some time, employees loyal to the Roerichs acquired new premises for the Museum and bought a significant part of the paintings.
N.K. Roerich continues his international cultural activities. In his philosophical and artistic essays, he creates a completely new concept of Culture, based on the ideas of Living Ethics. Culture, according to N.K. Roerich, is closely connected with the problems of the cosmic evolution of mankind and is the “greatest pillar” of this process.
In the broad concept of Culture N.K. Roerich included a synthesis of the best achievements of the human spirit in the field of religious experience, science, art, and education. It was Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich who first formulated the fundamental difference between Culture and Civilization. If Culture is related to the spiritual world of man in his creative self-expression, then civilization is only the external arrangement of human life in all its material, civil aspects. The identification of civilization and Culture, Nikolai Konstantinovich argued, leads to confusion of these concepts, to an underestimation of the spiritual factor in the development of mankind. “Wealth in itself does not give Culture. But the expansion and refinement of thinking and the feeling of Beauty give that sophistication, that nobility of spirit, which distinguishes a cultured person. It is he who can build a bright future for his country.” Based on this, humanity not only must develop Culture, but is also obliged to protect it.
In the 1930s, sensing the approaching threat of war, N.K. Roerich is developing a draft of a special Pact for the protection of cultural property during wars and civil strife. The Roerich Pact contained great educational significance. “The Pact for the Protection of Cultural Treasures is needed not only as an official body, but as an educational law that, from the first days of school, will educate the young generation with noble ideas about preserving the true values of all humanity.” This cultural initiative was supported in the widest circles of the world community. The artist’s idea was welcomed by R. Rolland, B. Shaw, R. Tagore, A. Einstein. The signing of the Pact took place on April 15, 1935 at the White House in Washington. The document was initially ratified by 21 countries of the American continent. Subsequently, in 1954, the Roerich Pact formed the basis of the Hague “International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict,” and proposed by N.K. Roerich created a special flag, the Banner of Peace, declaring all treasures of culture and art as objects of inviolability, and to this day flies over many cultural and educational institutions around the world.
From the very first days of World War II, Nicholas Roerich used every opportunity to help his Motherland, even while being far from it. Together with his youngest son S.N. Roerich, he organizes exhibitions and sales of paintings, and transfers all the proceeds to the Red Army Fund. Numerous articles are written in newspapers, speeches are made on the radio in support of the Soviet people. There is not a single note of despondency and confusion. Even in the most critical days of the war, there is only confidence in the victory of the Russian people: “We argued with many connecting rods, doubters. False prophets predicted all sorts of troubles, but we always said: “Moscow will stand!”, “Leningrad will stand!”, “Stalingrad will stand!” So we resisted! The invincible Russian army has grown to the wonder of the whole world!” Nikolai Konstantinovich wrote in the article “Glory” in 1943.
In these threatening years for Russia, the artist in his work again turns to the theme of his native land. During this period, he created a number of paintings - “Prince Igor”, “Alexander Nevsky”, “Partisans”, “Victory”, in which, using images of Russian history, he predicted the victory of the Russian people over fascism.
The essays and letters of Nikolai Konstantinovich during this period more than ever call for human unity and community. The most important thing, says N.K. Roerich lies in ourselves, in the strength of our spirit, in our internal culture, the basis of which is kindness, the desire for knowledge and the veneration of Beauty.
These calls were never abstract. Not only the art and literary creativity of N.K. were built on these principles. Roerich, but also his whole life. Testimonies from contemporaries, in addition to admiration for the versatility of the creative genius, convey to us the image of a purposeful person, striking with his extraordinary spiritual strength, inner harmony, as well as extraordinary tolerance for the views of other people.
The global recognition of the Russian artist is evidenced by the fact that more than a hundred institutes, academies, scientific corporations, and cultural institutions around the world elected him as an honorary and full member. The artist was treated with great respect in India itself - famous Indian philosophers, scientists, writers, and public figures were personally acquainted with Nikolai Konstantinovich. Many ordinary Indians revered him as a great sage.
Recognition of merits in social, scientific and artistic activities of N.K. Roerich in no way influenced his attitude towards his Motherland. He always remained a patriot and Russian citizen, having with him only one passport - Russia. The thought of returning to his homeland never left N.K. Roerich never. Immediately after the end of the war, the artist requested a visa to enter the Soviet Union. But his intentions were not destined to come true - in the midst of preparations, on December 13, 1947, he passed away without knowing that he was denied a visa...
At the site of the funeral pyre, in front of the face of the majestic snowy peaks, a large rectangular stone was installed, on which the inscription was carved: “On December 15, 1947, the body of Maharishi Nicholas Roerich, the great Russian friend of India, was committed to fire. Let there be peace."