How did Nicholas Roerich die? Paintings by N.K. Roerich. State Museum of the History of Literature, Art and Culture of Altai

In St. Petersburg, in the family of a famous lawyer, who belonged to a Russified Danish-Norwegian family, who settled in Russia in the early 18th century.

Nikolai read a lot as a child, was fond of history. In 1891, a family friend, sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin, drew attention to Roerich's artistic abilities and penchant for drawing and became the future artist's first teacher.

In 1893, Roerich graduated from the private Karl May Gymnasium, where Alexander Benois, Konstantin Somov, Dmitry Filosofov studied with him, and at the same time entered the Academy of Arts and the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, where he simultaneously attended lectures at the Faculty of History.

At the Academy of Arts from 1895, Roerich studied in the workshop of Arkhip Kuindzhi, who had a great influence on him. At this time, he closely communicated with the artist and music critic Vladimir Stasov, composers Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov, Anatoly Lyadov, Anton Arensky, artist Ilya Repin and others.

Already in his student years, Roerich became a member of the Russian Archaeological Society, carried out excavations in the St. Petersburg, Pskov, Novgorod, Tver, Yaroslavl, Smolensk provinces. In archaeological expeditions, he recorded folklore.

In 1897 he graduated from the Academy of Arts, in 1898 - from the university, and became deputy editor-in-chief of the journal of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts "Art and Art Industry".

In 1900, Roerich studied in Paris in the studios of the artists Pierre Puvis de Chavannes and Fernand Cormont. In 1901 he received the position of secretary of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, since 1906 - director of the Art School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. In 1909 he became a member of the Russian Academy of Arts, in 1910 he was elected chairman of the Russian art association "World of Art".

In 1900-1910, Roerich was one of the founders and most active figures of the Society for the Revival of Artistic Russia, the Society for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments of Art and Antiquity in Russia, as well as many other organizations.

As an archaeologist, Nicholas Roerich in the summer of 1902, during excavations of mounds on Lake Piros, discovered hundreds of figured amber jewelry, testifying to the high artistic culture of the Neolithic period in the Novgorod and Tver provinces. In the summer of 1910, he discovered the remains of the Kremlin and urban development of Ancient Novgorod, which laid the foundation for subsequent work.

As an artist, Roerich worked in the field of easel, monumental (frescoes, mosaics) and theatrical and decorative painting. In 1903-1904, he undertook a journey through more than forty ancient Russian cities, during which he created a series of studies depicting the architectural monuments of Russia. In 1906, he created 12 sketches for a church in the Golubev estate in Parkhomovka near Kiev, sketches for mosaics for the Pochaev Lavra (1910), four sketches for painting a chapel in Pskov (1913), 12 panels for the Livshits villa in Nice (1914). He decorated the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino near Smolensk (1911-1914), made the panels "Battle at Kerzhents" and "Conquest of Kazan" for the Kazansky railway station in Moscow (1915-1916).

Since 1905, the artist worked on the design of opera, ballet and drama productions: The Snow Maiden, Peer Gynt, Princess Malene, Valkyrie, etc. During the famous Russian Seasons by Sergei Diaghilev in Paris, in the design Nicholas Roerich were "Polovtsian Dances" from "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin, "Pskovite" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the ballet "The Rite of Spring" to the music of Igor Stravinsky, where Roerich was also a co-author of the libretto.

Roerich also acted as a master of book and magazine graphics, designing, in particular, the publication of the plays by Maurice Maeterlinck (1909).

From 1918, Nicholas Roerich lived abroad: in the early 1920s, mainly in the United States; since 1923, intermittently, and since 1936, constantly - in India.

In 1920-1922 in New York, he created the Institute of United Arts and other cultural and educational associations. In 1923, the Roerich Museum (Nicolas Roerich Museum) was opened in New York, which became the first museum of a Russian artist abroad.

In 1923-1928, Nicholas Roerich undertook an unprecedented scientific and artistic expedition through the Himalayas, Tibet, Altai and Mongolia, and in 1934-1935 through Manchuria and China.

In 1928, the Himalayan Institute of Scientific Research "Urusvati" was established in India. In 1931-1933, as part of the work of the institute, Roerich conducted a number of ethnographic and botanical expeditions to the regions of the Himalayas bordering the Kullu Valley.

The main theme of Roerich's artistic work in the 1920s-1940s was the East. The artist created the "Teachers of the East" series, a series dedicated to the images of women ("Mother of the World"), nature, ancient cultural monuments and legends of the Himalayas, etc. Philosophical searches came to the fore in his art. In total, Nicholas Roerich created over 7,000 paintings, combined into thematic cycles and series.

The literary heritage of Roerich is rich. He is the author of a collection of poems "Flowers of Moria" (1921), prose books of essay and diary nature "Ways of Blessing" (1924), "Fiery Stronghold" (1932), "Indestructible" (1936), "Altai-Himalayas", "Heart of Asia "and" Shambhala "(1927-1930), etc.

Spiritual teaching, proclaimed by Nicholas Roerich and his wife Elena, is called Agni Yoga (or "Living Ethics"). It is based on the idea of ​​the natural evolution of the Cosmos, the organic component of which is the evolution of man and all mankind as a whole. The meaning of human evolution is spiritual enlightenment and spiritual perfection. The most important factor in the manifestation and creative growth of the human spirit on Earth is culture. Therefore, the preservation and promotion of the spiritual values ​​of culture is the most important task of the earthly community.

In 1929, Nicholas Roerich addressed the world community with an initiative to conclude an international legal pact on the protection of cultural property in armed conflicts. In 1935, the United States and 20 countries of Latin America signed the "Treaty for the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments", called the Roerich Pact. Based on this document, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict was adopted in 1954.

Nicholas Roerich has been married since 1901. His wife Helena Roerich (Shaposhnikova) (1879-1955) was a philosopher, traveler and public figure. Two sons were born in the marriage - orientalist Yuri Roerich (1902-1960) and

Biography

Russian painter, theater artist, archaeologist, traveler, writer, public figure. Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich - the father of the orientalist Yu.N. Roerich (1902-1960) and artist S.N. Roerich (1904-1991). In translation from the Scandinavian surname Roerich means rich in glory. According to family tradition, its origin dates back to the time of the Vikings. 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 were politicians and military leaders.

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on October 9 (September 27 according to the old style) 1874 in St. Petersburg, in the family of a notary of the District Court of St. Petersburg (since 1873). Nikolai's father, Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich, in 1860 married Maria Vasilievna Kalashnikova and settled with her in St. Petersburg - in a mansion on Nikolaevskaya Embankment (now Universitetskaya), where he opened his own law office. In addition to Nikolai, the family had three more children: younger brothers Boris and Vladimir and older sister Lydia. Together with his family lived his grandfather on his father's side, Fedor Ivanovich (died at the age of 105), who had a collection of Masonic symbols. The Roerich family spent their summer and winter vacations at the Izvara country estate, acquired by Konstantin 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 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 Carl 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 the various hobbies of Nicholas were drawing, geography, history, archeology, collecting minerals, horseback riding, and hunting. The first art teacher was Nikolai's father's friend, 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, on the condition expressed by the father, who wished his son a more practical education, Nikolai entered the law faculty at the State University (graduated in 1898); attended the course of 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 icon painting, having received orders from several churches. In 1897 N.K. Roerich, among other students of Kuindzhi, leaves the Academy in protest against the dismissal of his beloved teacher and continues to work on the series of paintings he has begun on the themes of the life of the ancient Slavs ("Beginning of Russia. Slavs"). He began to study ancient chronicles and books more thoroughly from 1895, when he met V.V. Stasov, who was in charge of the art department at the Public Library. While still studying at the university, Roerich became a member of the Russian Archaeological Society.

After graduating from the Academy and the University, he became an assistant to the editor-in-chief of Stasov's own magazine, Art and the Art Industry, and signed the 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. The first trip of Nicholas Roerich was made on a steamer 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 Izvara, and with the money received, Nicholas was able to fulfill his long-awaited dream - in September he went to study in Paris, stopping by Berlin, Dresden and Munich along the way. In the workshop of the historical painter Fernand Kormon, Nicholas Roerich studied until mid-1901, returning to Russia in the summer. October 28, 1901 in the church of the Imperial Academy of Arts, at 6 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 Architectural Studies by Roerich, which opened at the Society for the Encouragement of Artists in January 1904. Nicholas II, who visited the exhibition, wished that the museum of Alexander III (now the Russian Museum) acquired the entire series, but on the day of his visit, Russia declared war Japan, and the case remained 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 after seventy years).

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 association "World of Art". By the revolution of 1917 N.K. Roerich reacted sympathetically; was a member of the Commission for the Arts, established 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.

From the spring of 1918 he lived abroad: in the early 1920s in the USA; since 1923 intermittently, and since 1936 constantly - in India. In 1918 N.K. Roerich makes a trip to 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 1920s and 1930s 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, was in Altai. In 1929, together with his son, he founded the Institute of Himalayan Research ("Urusvati") in Nagar. Since the 1920s, Nicholas Roerich has been conducting educational activities to attract the world community to the protection of cultural monuments (on the basis of the so-called Roerich Pact put forward by him, 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). From 1942-1944 he was honorary president of the American-Russian Cultural Association. Nicholas Roerich died on December 13, 1947 in the town of Nagar (Kulu Valley, Punjab, India). In 1991, the International Center of the Roerichs was established in Moscow (transformed from the Soviet Fund of the Roerichs).

Among the literary works of Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich - poetry, prose, journalism: "The Legal Status of Artists in Ancient Russia" (1898; diploma work at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University), "Flowers of Moria" (1921; collection of poems), "Ways of Blessing" (1924), "Heart of Asia" (1929), "Fiery Stronghold" (1932), "Indestructible" (1936), "Gateway to the Future" (1936), "Altai - Himalayas", "Artistic technique applied to archeology" (a course of lectures at the St. Petersburg Archaeological Institute), articles on art and the protection of ancient monuments

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, Himalayan series of mountain landscapes, symbolic compositions, a series of ninety canvases (monuments of ancient Russian architecture): "Messenger. "Clan Rebelled Against Clan" (from the cycle "Slavs. The Beginning of Russia"; the picture was presented by Roerich as a graduation work at the end of the Academy of Arts; 1897; Tretyakov Gallery), "Campaign" (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 Nikolai 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), "Scream of a Serpent" (1913, Pskov Museum), "Doomed City" (1914, location unknown), "Sign" (1915; Odessa Art Museum), "Guga Chokhan" (1931; Tretyakov Gallery), "Signs of Geser" (1940; Russian Museum) , "The Himalayas. Nanda-Devi" (1941; Russian Museum), "Tibet. Monastery "(1942; Russian Museum), "Remember" (1945; Russian Museum). Among the works in the field of theatrical and decorative painting are the scenery for the opera "Pskovite" by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (1909), the drama "Peer Gynt" G. Ibsen (1912), the ballet "The Rite of Spring" by I.F. Stravinsky (1913), M. Maeterlinck's play "Sister Beatrice" (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 murals and mosaics: the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino (1914), majolica friezes and picturesque panels in private mansions. Ten years after the death of Nicholas Roerich, more than 400 works created by him in India, according to the will of Nicholas Roerich, were transferred to the museums of the USSR.

Information sources:

• Mystic-world project - mystic-world.net
• Encyclopedic resource rubricon.com (Great Soviet Encyclopedia, Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg", World Encyclopedia of Classical Art "Great Masters", Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary)
• Project "Russia congratulates!"

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich is an outstanding figure in Russian and world culture. Artist, philosopher, writer, scientist, public figure and traveler. After himself, he left a huge creative heritage - over seven thousand paintings, about thirty volumes of literary works.

Childhood and youth

Nicholas Roerich was born in St. Petersburg on October 9, 1874. His father Konstantin Fedorovich Roerich was an influential lawyer in the city. Mother Maria Vasilievna was a housewife, raised children. Nicholas had an older sister, Lydia, and two younger brothers, Vladimir and Boris.

As a child, the boy became interested in history, read a lot. Sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin, who was a frequent visitor to the Roerich family, noticed that Nikolai had a talent for drawing, and began to teach him the artistic craft. Roerich studied at the Karl May gymnasium. His classmates were Alexander Benois, Dmitry Filosofov.

Upon graduation, he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. And at the same time studied at the university as a lawyer. At the academy he worked in the workshop of a famous artist. At this time, he closely communicated with Anatoly Lyadov and others.

As a student, he went to archaeological excavations, and in 1895 he became a member of the Russian Archaeological Society. On these trips, he recorded stories of local folklore.

In 1897, Nicholas Roerich graduated from the Academy of Arts. His graduation work was the painting "Messenger", which he purchased for his gallery. At the same time, the young artist received the position of assistant head of the Imperial Museum, and at the same time worked in the publication Art and the Art Industry.

Painting

In 1900, Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich decided to go to Paris, where he studied at the studios of the artists Fernand Cormon and Pierre Puvis de Chavannes. Upon his return, Roerich preferred to write historical subjects. The paintings “Idols”, “Rooks are being built”, “Elders converge”, etc. belong to the early period of his work. The artist worked in the field of monumental and theatrical and decorative painting.

Beginning in 1905, Roerich worked on the design of ballet, opera and drama productions. During this period of time, Nikolai Konstantinovich was actively involved in the revival of artistic Russia and the preservation of ancient monuments.

In 1903, he organizes a trip to the ancient Russian cities. At this time, he writes a series of sketches with architectural monuments of Russia. The artist also creates sketches for painting churches and chapels. In 1910, he participated in archaeological excavations, in which he managed to discover the remains of the Kremlin of Ancient Novgorod.

In 1913, Roerich began work on two panels - "The Battle of Kerzhents" and "The Conquest of Kazan". The dimensions of the paintings were impressive. "The Conquest of Kazan" was created to decorate the Kazansky railway station in Moscow. But because of the war, the construction of the station was delayed. The panel was temporarily transferred to the Academy of Arts.

But its new leader, for his own personal reasons, decided to destroy the Academy Museum and all the exhibits that were in it. As a result, Roerich's canvas was cut into pieces and distributed to students. This is how the work of the great artist irretrievably perished.

Nikolai Konstantinovich also worked on the design of book and magazine graphics, for example, he participated in the creation of an edition of Maurice Maeterlinck's plays. In 1918 Roerich moved to the USA. In New York, he created the Institute of United Arts. In 1923, the Roerich Museum began to function in the city - it was the first museum of a Russian artist opened outside of Russia.

But perhaps the greatest mark on Roerich's work was left by his expedition to the Himalayas. In 1923 he and his family came to India. He immediately began to prepare for the most important journey of his life - an expedition to remote places in Central Asia.

These territories interested him not only as an artist. He wanted to study and solve the problems associated with the world migration of ancient peoples. The route was long and difficult. It passed through Sikkim, Kashmir, Xinjiang (China), Siberia, Altai, Tibet and even the untrodden regions of the Trans-Himalaya.

By the amount of material collected, this expedition can be safely listed among the largest expeditions of the 20th century. It lasted 39 months - from 1925 to 1928.

Perhaps Roerich's most popular paintings were created precisely under the impression of this journey and the great mountains. The artist created a series of paintings "Teachers of the East", "Mother of the World" - a cycle dedicated to the Great Feminine Principle. During this period he painted over 600 paintings. Philosophical searches came to the fore in his work.

Literature

The literary heritage of Nicholas Roerich is also great. He published a collection of poems "Flowers of Moria", several prose books - "Flaming Stronghold", "Altai-Himalayas", "Shambhala", etc.

But, perhaps, the main literary work of Roerich is the spiritual teaching "Agni Yoga" or "Living Ethics". It was created with the participation of the wife of Nicholas Konstantinovich - Helena Roerich. First of all, this is the philosophy of cosmic reality, the natural evolution of the Cosmos. According to the teachings, the meaning of human evolution is spiritual enlightenment and perfection.

In 1929, thanks to Nicholas Roerich, a new stage in the history of all mankind began - the Roerich Pact was adopted. It was the first document in history that dealt with the protection of world cultural heritage. The Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments was signed by 21 countries.

Personal life

A significant year for Nicholas Roerich was 1899. He met his future wife -. She came from a family of St. Petersburg intellectuals. From childhood she was fond of drawing and playing the piano, later she began to study philosophy, religion and mythology. They immediately imbued each other, looked at the world the same way. Therefore, their sympathy soon grew into a strong feeling. In 1901, young people got married.

All their lives they complemented each other creatively and spiritually. Elena Ivanovna shared any undertakings of her husband, was a reliable companion and true friend. In 1902, their first-born son Yuri was born. And in 1904, the son Svyatoslav was born.

In his books, Roerich called Elena Ivanovna nothing more than an “inspirer” and a “friend.” He showed new paintings to her first of all, trusting her intuition and taste. In all travels and expeditions, Elena Ivanovna accompanied her husband. Thanks to her, Roerich got acquainted with the works of Indian thinkers.

There is a version that Elena Ivanovna was ill with a mental illness. Their family doctor Yalovenko testified to this. He wrote that the woman was suffering from an "epileptic aura". According to him, such patients often hear voices and see invisible objects. The doctor also informed Nikolai Konstantinovich about this. But he took this information coldly. Roerich often fell under her influence and even believed in her psychic abilities.

Death

Back in 1939, Nikolai Konstantinovich was diagnosed with heart disease. In recent years, the artist wanted to return to Russia, but the war broke out, then he was denied an entry visa. In the spring of 1947, however, the long-awaited permission came. The Roerich family began to prepare for their departure.

On December 13, 1947, when things and over 400 paintings were packed, Nikolai Konstantinovich was finishing the painting “Order to the teacher”. Suddenly, his heart stopped beating. They buried the great artist according to Indian custom - burn the body and scatter it in the wind from the top of the mountain. At the place of cremation, a monument was erected with the inscription:

"To the great Russian friend of India".

Artworks

• 1897 - "Messenger (Clan upon clan has risen)"
• 1901 - "Overseas guests"
• 1901 - "Idols"
• 1905 - Treasure of the Angels
• 1912 - "The Last Angel"
• 1922 - "And we work"
• 1931 - "Zarathustra"
• 1931 - "The Lights of Victory"
• 1932 - "Saint Sergius of Radonezh"
• 1933 - "The Way to Shambola"
• 1936 - "Ship of the Desert (Lone Traveler)"
• 1938 - "Everest"

Bibliography

• 1931 - "Power of Light"
• 1990 - Light Up Hearts
• 1991 - "Gateway to the Future"
• 1991 - "Unbreakable"
• 1994 - "On the Eternal ..."
• 2004 - "Agni Yoga in 5 volumes"
• 2008 - "Sign of the Era"
• 2009 - "Altai - Himalayas"
• 2011 - Flowers of Morya
• 2012 - "The Myth of Atlantis"
• 2012 - "Shambhala"
• 2012 - Shining Shambhala

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on September 27 (October 9), 1874 in St. Petersburg, on Vasilevsky Island, on Universitetskaya embankment, in house number 25, on which a memorial plaque is now installed. N.K.'s ancestors Roerich on the paternal side belonged to an ancient Scandinavian family and moved to Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. His father was the owner of a notary's office, a prominent lawyer, a man of great culture and wide erudition. N.K. Roerich studied at the K.I. May, in the same years, he showed the ability to draw and interest in archaeological excavations.

In 1893 he becomes a student at the same time of the Academy of Arts and the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, listens to lectures at the Faculty of History and Philology, participates in the activities of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society (since 1896), studies ancient chronicles, letters, drawings. The topic of his graduation work was “The Legal Status of the Artist in Ancient Russia.” At the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts, he studies in the workshop of A.I. Kuindzhi, and when teachers are undeservedly dismissed, he, together with other students, leaves the Academy in protest in 1894.

Already in those years, he created a series of paintings “The Beginning of Russia. Slavs". This theme became the leading one in his work for a number of years.

1901 N.K. Roerich married Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova, daughter of a famous architect, great-great-granddaughter of the commander M.I. Golenishcheva Kutuzova, a charming and gifted woman. Together with his wife N.K. Roerich goes on archaeological expeditions, travels to ancient Russian cities, gets acquainted with Russian folklore and architecture. The result of trips 1903-1904. there were over 90 paintings dedicated to the history of Russia.

1906 N.K. Roerich headed the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts - the largest art and industrial educational institution in Russia. The theme of Roerich's works of art of that time is ancient Russian history and epic. In his work on canvases, the knowledge of an archaeologist and the subtle intuition of the artist are combined. These themes are also embodied in theater and scenery painting: he creates sketches of scenery and costumes for N.K. Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Snow Maiden", "Pskovite", "Sadko", "The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia", I. Stravinsky's ballet "The Rite of Spring", etc. In 1909, N.K. Roerich takes part in S.P. Diaghilev - the famous "Russian Seasons" in Paris.

Roerich wrote a whole series of paintings on fairy tales, folklore attracts his closest attention. “We are surrounded by miracles, but, blind, we do not see them. We are drunk with possibilities, but, being dark, we do not see them,” the artist wrote, calling for attention to fairy tales and legends, in which historical facts and knowledge about the world around were refracted in a peculiar way.

Interest in the life of the ancient Slavs, in the origins of Russia, organically combined with interest in the East - the cradle of human civilization. “I was drawn to the heart of Asia for a long time, one might say, from the earliest years,” Roerich recalls in Sheets of a Diary. The artist creates a large number of paintings and literary works on oriental subjects, borrowed mainly from Indian mythology. India - the "mother" of European cultures, the "ancestral home" of mankind - was of particular interest. The hypothesis about the common roots of Indian and Russian cultures required evidence and facts...

In 1910, he became chairman of the artistic association "World of Art", which included A.N. Benois, M.V. Dobuzhinsky, K.A. Somov, V.E. Borisov-Musatov, Z.E. Serebryakova, E.E. Lansere, B.A. Kustodiev and many others. In the tenth years in St. Petersburg, Roerich took part in the work, and sometimes in the organization of numerous art societies and educational institutions - IOPH, the Museum of Old Petersburg, the Society. A.I. Kuindzhi, the Society of Architects-Artists and the Commission for the Arrangement of the Museum of Pre-Petrine Art and Life, the Society for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments of Art and Antiquity in Russia, the Society for the Revival of Artistic Russia, Women's Courses in Higher Architectural Knowledge, Women's Art and Industrial Workshops, Workshops for Mutilated Warriors. His skill and recognition as a painter who has found a unique niche and his own pictorial language in art is growing. With prophetic canvases on the eve of the First World War (“Scream of the Serpent”, “Doomed City”, “Human Affairs”, etc.), he earned the fame of the “great intuitionist”.

In 1916, he fell ill with pneumonia and the doctors recommended that he leave Petrograd for regions with a drier climate. He chose Serdobol (Sortavala), in the north of Lake Ladoga. The time spent in the North turned out to be extremely fruitful in terms of creativity (the Karelian painting cycle, the autobiographical story “Flame”, the poetic cycle “Flowers of Moria”, the mystery play “Mercy”, which reflected the artist’s view of the revolutionary catastrophe in Russia and the role of the true Knowledge in the life of mankind), and it was then that the spiritual formation of the artist was completed and the trend of his further path and actions was determined. After Finland was granted independence, the Roerich family was cut off from Russia. Roerich's attitude to the policy of the Bolsheviks, especially in the field of culture, was sharply negative. Since the artist's paintings were exhibited at exhibitions in Finland, Sweden, Norway, he first lived in these countries. Then, at the invitation of S.P. Diaghilev, who spent the Russian Seasons in London, came to England, painted scenery and created costumes for the Russian operas The Snow Maiden, Prince Igor, The Tale of Tsar Saltan.

In 1920, Roerich accepted an offer from the University of Chicago to organize an exhibition. In America, where he spent three years, he had a great opportunity to develop his cultural and educational activities, as well as seriously prepare an expedition to Central Asia. His organizational talent manifested itself in the creation of the Institute of United Arts, the International Art Center "Corona mundi" ("Crown of the World"), the purpose of which was the cultural cooperation of the peoples of the world. At the same time, the Museum named after N.K. Roerich in New York. No less intense was the spiritual life of the artist.

In 1922 he creates a series of paintings "Sancta". His notes of the instructions of the Master, known since the time of H.P. Blavatsky as Mahatma Morya, form a separate book - “Leaves of Morya's Garden. The Call”, which became the first volume of the now widely known Teaching of Living Ethics, or Agni Yoga. Roerich also visits Arizona and New Mexico to study and capture on canvas traces of ancient American civilizations. However, the main dream of N.K. Roerich was the East.

Beginning in 1923, for five years, the Roerich family made a grandiose journey through India and Central Asia, to Tibet, Northwestern China, to the Altai, to Mongolia. Over the years, about 500 paintings have been painted (the cycles “His Country”, “Banners of the East”, “Holy Places and Strongholds”, etc.), art monuments, ancient manuscripts, rituals and legends, religious cults have been studied, numerous collections have been collected. Roerich creates images of the great Teachers of mankind, thinkers, enlightened ones - Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Padma Sambhava, Milarepa, Nagarjuna, Tsongkhapa. It was during these years that his doctrine of culture finally took shape.

N.K. Roerich at the Roerich Museum

In 1926 the Roerichs arrived in Moscow. The artist conveyed to the Soviet government the message of the Mahatmas, spiritual teachers of the East, met with G.V. Chicherin and A.V. Lunacharsky, gave Russia a cycle of paintings "Maitreya", after which the journey through Asia was continued. At the end of the grandiose Central Asian expedition, Roerich published the travel diary “Altai-Himalayas” and the book “The Heart of Asia”, in which he presented the path of his expedition through 35 mountain passes, managed to penetrate the meaning of prophecies and legends coming from immemorial antiquity, touched to the secrets of Shambhala. “The Teaching of Shambhala,” writes N.K. Roerich - extremely vital. Not dreams, but the most practical advice is given in this teaching from the Himalayas.” The main mistake is a simplified understanding of Shambhala, the search for an exact place on a geographical map. The path to Shambhala is the path of consciousness.

In 1928, in the Kullu Valley of India, Nicholas Roerich and Helena Ivanovna Roerich founded the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute, whose eldest son Yuri was appointed director. (The institute, which attracted the attention of many prominent scientists, in particular, A. Einstein, N.I. Vavilov, D. Boshe, J. Tucci, ceased its activities in connection with the Second World War.) Kullu becomes the permanent residence of the whole family. From Kullu, Roerich made a trip to America and Europe in the early 1930s, doing a lot of work in the cultural and political circles of different countries in order to prepare an international agreement on the protection of the spiritual heritage of mankind in view of the growing threat of a new war. In 1932 the artist created a program triptych "Madonna Oriflamma". Oriflamme (lat. Aurum - gold, flamma - flame) in medieval France was the name of the banner of the king, which was thrown onto a spear at a critical moment in the battle. In Roerich’s work, the Lady of the Red Flame, framed by the images of the great Christian ascetics Francis of Assisi and Sergius of Radonezh, holds in her hands the Banner of Peace, in the center of which is the sign of the Trinity - three circles in a circle, one of the oldest world symbols, represented in cultures of different times and peoples. The efforts of Nikolai Konstantinovich, as well as the circle of his like-minded people, lead to the signing on April 15, 1935 in Washington, in the White House of the Roerich Pact - "The International Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments in Wartime and Peacetime." In 1934-1935. Roerich travels to China and Mongolia (Manchurian expedition). On the instructions of the US Department of Agriculture, research was carried out on drought-resistant plants. In addition, a lot of social and educational work was carried out in Harbin among the Russian emigration. Together with his son Yuri and brother V.K. Roerich established a cooperative movement, counting on the support of the government of Mongolia, extensive plans were developed to irrigate desert lands and create new settlements and a university center. The program article “Let the deserts prosper” is devoted to these ideas. Since 1935, Roerich has been living in Kullu, doing a lot of painting, journalism, conducting a huge correspondence, extensive public work, meeting with progressive Indian figures (D. Nehru, I. Gandhi were guests of his house). He again and again refers to the fate of Russia, noting in his notebook: "Two themes were combined everywhere: Russia and the Himalayas." Therefore, along with the magnificent Himalayan Suite, the appearance of such paintings as “The Bogatyrs Wake Up”, “Svyatogor”, “Nastasya Mikulichna”, dedicated to the feat of the Russian people in the Great Patriotic War, is natural. The property that distinguished this great man until his last days was his amazing capacity for work. The total number of his paintings varies, according to art historians, from five to seven thousand. Roerich's literary heritage is no less great: ten volumes were published during his lifetime, but this is far from a complete collection of records, essays, articles, letters and speeches scattered around the world, the best definition for which was chosen by the Indian professor Gengoli - "spiritual appeals".

Russian artist, stage designer, philosopher-mystic, writer, traveler, archaeologist, public figure

Nicholas Roerich

short biography

During his life he created about 7,000 paintings, many of which are in the famous galleries of the world, and about 30 volumes of literary works, including two poetic ones. The author of the idea and initiator of the Roerich Pact, the founder of the international cultural movements "Peace through Culture" and "Banner of Peace". Recipient of several Russian and foreign awards.

In the Russian period of his life and work, he was engaged in archeology, collecting, as an artist he successfully exhibited, participated in the design and painting of churches, worked as the director of the school of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts, headed the art association "World of Art", successfully worked as a stage designer ("Russian Seasons"), actively participated in projects for the protection and revival of Russian antiquity, in the activities of charitable organizations.

From 1917 he lived in exile. He organized and participated in the Central Asian and Manchurian expeditions, traveled a lot. He founded the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute and more than a dozen cultural and educational institutions and societies in various countries. He was active in public activities, was associated with political and economic projects, had connections with the Bolsheviks and Freemasonry.

He was a member of many organizations. He was married to Helena Roerich. Had two sons - Yuri and Svyatoslav.

Since the 1920s, Roerich societies and museums have existed in different countries of the world. Communities of followers of his ideas and religious and philosophical teaching Living Ethics (Agni Yoga) form the Roerich movement. Roerich's ideas had a significant impact on the formation and development of the New Age in Russia.

Life and art

Russian period

Father - Konstantin Fedorovich - was a famous notary and public figure. Mother - Maria Vasilievna Kalashnikova, came from a merchant family. Brothers - Vladimir and Boris Roerich. Among the friends of the Roerich family were such prominent figures as D. Mendeleev, N. Kostomarov, M. Mikeshin, L. Ivanovsky and many others.

Since childhood, Nicholas Roerich was attracted by painting, archeology, history and the rich cultural heritage of Russia and the East.

In 1893, after graduating from the Karl May gymnasium, Nicholas Roerich simultaneously entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University (he graduated in 1898 with a diploma in “The Legal Status of the Artists of Ancient Russia”) and the Imperial Academy of Arts. Since 1895, he has been studying in the studio of the famous artist A. I. Kuindzhi. At this time, he closely communicated with famous cultural figures of that time - V. V. Stasov, I. E. Repin, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D. V. Grigorovich, S. P. Diaghilev. In preparation for his thesis, Roerich will write: “In ancient and most ancient Russia there are many signs of culture: our ancient literature is not at all as poor as Westerners wanted to present it”. The discovery, preservation and continuation of the signs of primordial Russian culture for many years will become the credo of N. K. Roerich.

Since 1892, Roerich began to conduct independent archaeological excavations. Already in his student years, he becomes a member of the Russian Archaeological Society. Since 1898 he began to cooperate with the St. Petersburg Archaeological Institute. In the last institution in 1898-1903. he was a lecturer in the special course "Artistic Technique as Applied to Archaeology", the organizer and one of the leaders of educational archaeological excavations, and also the editor-compiler of the "Archaeological Map of the St. Petersburg Province". Conducts numerous excavations in St. Petersburg, Pskov, Novgorod, Tver, Yaroslavl, Smolensk provinces. In 1897, Roerich became the first archaeologist who managed to find the burial complex of Vodi in the St. Petersburg region. In 1897 he completed a sketch drawing of the excavation of the famous Maikop mound "Oshad". The sketches of N. I. Veselovsky served as the basis for the drawing. In 1904, together with Prince Putyatin, Roerich discovered several Neolithic sites in Valdai (in the vicinity of Lake Piros). Since 1905, he began to collect a collection of Stone Age antiquities, which already in the same year was highly appreciated at the French Prehistoric Congress in Perigueux. By 1910, the collection included more than 30 thousand exhibits from Russia, Germany, Italy, and France (today it is exhibited in the Hermitage). In the summer of 1910, Roerich, together with N. E. Makarenko, conducted the first archaeological excavations in Novgorod. In 1911, with the active participation of Roerich, the Commission for the Registration of Antiquities in the St. Petersburg Province under the Society for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments of Art and Antiquities in Russia was created.

In 1897, N. K. Roerich graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. His diploma painting "Messenger" was purchased by P. M. Tretyakov. The well-known critic of that time, V.V. Stasov, highly appreciated this picture: “You should definitely visit Tolstoy… let the great writer of the Russian land himself make you an artist.” The meeting with Tolstoy for the young Roerich became fateful. Addressing him, Leo Tolstoy said: “Has it happened in a boat to cross a fast-moving river? You must always rule above the place where you need it, otherwise it will blow you away. So in the field of moral requirements, one must always steer higher - life will blow everything away. Let your messenger hold the rudder very high, then he will swim!”

Also, the words of Fr. John of Kronstadt, who often visited the house of Roerich's parents: "Be healthy! You have to work hard for the Motherland".

N. K. Roerich works a lot in the historical genre. In the early period of creativity, he creates canvases: “Morning of the Kiev Heroes” (1895), “Evening of the Kiev Heroes” (1896), “The Elders Converge” (1898), “Idols” (1901), “Building Boats” (1903) and others. These works show the artist's original talent and innovative search in art. “Already in the first paintings, a peculiar style of Roerich emerges: his all-encompassing approach to composition, clarity of lines and conciseness, purity of color and musicality, great simplicity of expression and truthfulness”(R. Ya. Rudzitis). The artist's paintings are built on a deep knowledge of historical material, convey a sense of the spirit of the times and are saturated with philosophical content.

At the age of 24, N. K. Roerich became assistant director of the museum at the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts and at the same time assistant editor of the art magazine Art and Art Industry. Three years later, he holds the post of secretary of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts.

In 1899, Roerich met Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova on the estate of Prince Putyatin; On October 28, 1901, they were married in the church at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Helena Ivanovna became a faithful companion and inspiration for Nicholas Roerich, they will go hand in hand all their lives, creatively and spiritually complementing each other. In 1902, their son Yuri, a future orientalist, was born to them, and in 1904, Svyatoslav, a future artist and public figure.

From 1894 to 1902, Roerich traveled a lot to the historical places of Russia, and in 1903-1904 N.K. Roerich, together with his wife, made a big trip around Russia, visiting more than 40 cities known for their ancient monuments of antiquity. The purpose of this "trip through the old days" was to study the roots of Russian culture. The result of the trip was a large architectural series of paintings by the artist (about 90 studies), a collection of photographs of antiquity, which was part of Grabar's History of Russian Art, and articles in which Roerich was one of the first to raise the question of the enormous artistic value of ancient Russian icon painting and architecture.

... It's time for a Russian educated person to get to know and love Russia. It is time for secular people, bored without new impressions, to become interested in the high and significant, to which they have not yet been able to give their due place, which will replace the gray everyday life with a cheerful, beautiful life.

Roerich N. K. In the old days, 1903

After a large-scale journey through the cities of Russia, Roerich continued his travels and studies in Russian cities, and already in 1904 he visited cities along the Volga, Mozhaisk, the Savvino-Storozhevsky Monastery, ending his journey in the village of Talashkino near Smolensk (the possession of Maria Tenisheva), where, together with Malyutin, Vrubl, Benois, Korovin, Repin, etc., in practice, implements projects to revive ancient Russian traditions in art and Russian folk crafts. Cooperation with Tenisheva will last until 1917, and friendship - until the death of Maria Klavdievna. At the same time, in 1912-1915, Roerich actively participated in another major project for the revival of Russian art - the construction of the Fedorovsky town. At the same time, since 1907 he has been an employee of the Old Years magazine, from 1910 to 1914 he was the leading editor of the multi-volume publication History of Russian Art under the general editorship of Grabar, and in 1914 he was the editor and co-author of the large publication Russian Icon. In the historical concept of Roerich, the correlation of the past, present and future is of paramount importance. The past and present are measured by the future: …when we call to study the past, we will do it only for the sake of the future.” "From the ancient wonderful stones lay down the steps of the future."

As an artist, Roerich worked in the field of easel, monumental (frescoes, mosaics) and theatrical and decorative painting. In 1906, he created 12 sketches for the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin in the Golubev estate in Parkhomovka near Kiev (architect Pokrovsky V.A.), as well as sketches for mosaics for the church in the name of St. Peter the Apostle and St. Paul the Apostle at the Shlisselburg powder factories (arch. Pokrovsky V. A.) (1906) and the Trinity Cathedral of the Pochaev Lavra (1910), the iconostasis for the Church of the Kazan Mother of God of the Assumption Convent in Perm (1907), the image of St. George for the house church of Yu. S. Nechaev-Maltsov (1911), 4 sketches for the painting of the chapel of St. Anastasia at the Olginsky bridge in Pskov (1913), 12 panels for the Livshits villa in Nice (1914), a sketch for the painting "Saint Olga" ( 1915). In 1910-1914 he decorated the church of St. Spirit in Talashkino (compositions "The Queen of Heaven", "The Savior Not Made by Hands with the upcoming angels"). In monumental painting, the artist closely cooperates with the architect Shchusev. Some mosaics, created according to the sketches of Roerich by the workshop of V. A. Frolov, have survived to this day. For the Bazhanov House in St. Petersburg, the artist created a monumental frieze of 19 paintings on the themes of ancient Russian epics. In 1913-1914, Roerich created two monumental panels - "The Battle of Kerzhents" and "The Conquest of Kazan" to decorate the Kazan Station in Moscow (not preserved). In 1909-1915, he participated in the construction and decoration of the St. Petersburg Buddhist temple.

The many-sided talent of Nicholas Roerich also manifested itself in his works for theatrical productions: The Snow Maiden, Peer Gynt, Princess Malene, Valkyrie, etc. He was among the creators of the reconstructive Old Theater (1907-1908; 1913- 1914) - a unique phenomenon in the cultural life of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, and N. Roerich participated both as a designer of scenery and as an art critic. During the famous “Russian Seasons” by S. Diaghilev in Paris (1909-1913), in the design of N. K. Roerich, “Polovtsian Dances” from “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “Pskovityanka” by Rimsky-Korsakov, the ballet “The Rite of Spring” to music Stravinsky, in which Roerich acted not only as the creator of costumes and scenery, but also as a librettist.

Since 1905, in Roerich's work, along with the ancient Russian theme, separate oriental motifs begin to appear. Essays on Japan and India were published (“Devassari Abuntu” 1905, “At the Japanese Exhibition” 1906, “The Borders of the Kingdom” 1910, “Lakshmi the Victorious” 1909, “The Indian Way” 1913, “The Commandment of Gayatri” 1916), paintings are written in Indian motifs (“Devassari Abuntu” 1905, “Devassari Abuntu with Birds” 1906, “Border of the Kingdom” 1916, “Wisdom of Manu” 1916 - for the theosophical center in St. Petersburg). In addition to the collection of paintings of the "small Dutch" collected by Roerich, a collection of Japanese art appears. Roerich, in addition to Russian philosophy, studies the philosophy of the East, the works of the outstanding thinkers of India - Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, the work of Tagore, theosophical literature. The ancient cultures of Russia and India, their common source, are of interest to Roerich as an artist and as a scientist. Since 1906, Roerich has been friends and has a correspondence with the Indologist V. V. Golubev. In 1913 they discussed plans for a joint expedition to India to study the commonality of Russian and Indian cultures, a project to create a museum of Indian culture in St. Petersburg. Collaborates with Agvan Dorzhiev and other Russian Buddhists.

From 1906 to 1918, Nicholas Roerich was the director of the School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, while also teaching. Having accepted the appointment, he enthusiastically set to work: expanding the territory of the school, opening new departments and classes, restoring the rights of the pedagogical council, creating the Museum of Russian Art at the School, dreaming of reorganizing the School of the OPH into the Free People's Academy, or the School of Arts. A number of workshops are organized at the school (needlework and weaving (1908), icon painting (1909), ceramics and painting on porcelain (1910), chasing (1913), etc.). The famous icon painter from Mstyora D. M. Tyulin headed the icon-painting workshop. Under Roerich, the number of women's classes increased, and a women's etude class was created. The following were created: senior department, graphics class, lithographic workshop, medal class, sketch discussion class. Lectures on anatomy, ancient Russian art and architecture, and choir classes were introduced. Significant changes have also taken place in the curricula. A peculiar report of the semi-annual activity of the icon-painting workshop was the act of presenting to Emperor Nicholas II on December 6, 1909, an icon made by students.

Since 1906, the artist has been constantly participating in foreign exhibitions. In 1907, in France, he was elected a member of the Society of Autumn Salons, later a member of the National Academy in Reims and a member of the French Prehistoric Society. Paris, Venice, Berlin, Rome, Brussels, Vienna, London met with his work. Roerich's paintings were acquired by the Museum of Luxembourg, the Roman National Museum, the Louvre and other European museums. In the 1900s and early 1910s, Roerich, along with some other members of the World of Art, was one of the most famous Russian artists in France. It was with Roerich's work that many French critics associated their ideas about the "new Russian national art."

Since about 1906, a new period has been marked in Roerich's work. His art combines realism and symbolism, intensifying the search for a master in the field of color. He almost gives up oil and moves on to the tempera technique. He experiments a lot with the composition of paints, uses the method of superimposing one colorful tone on another. The originality and originality of the artist's art was noted by art criticism. In Russia and Europe during the period from 1907 to 1918, nine monographs and several dozen art magazines dedicated to Roerich's work were published. In 1914, the first volume of Roerich's collected works was published.

In 1908, Roerich was elected a member of the Board of the Society of Architects-Artists, in 1909 - a member of the Council of the "Society for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments of Art and Antiquity in Russia" and Chairman of the "Commission of the Museum of Pre-Petrine Art and Life" at the Society of Architects-Artists. In 1909, N. K. Roerich was elected an academician of the Russian Academy of Arts.

Since 1910, Roerich has headed the artistic association "World of Art", whose members were A. Benois, L. Bakst, I. Grabar, V. Serov, K. Petrov-Vodkin, B. Kustodiev, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Z. Serebryakova and others. In 1914, Roerich was elected Honorary Chairman of the Council of Women's Courses of Higher Architectural Knowledge, in 1915 - Chairman of the "Commission of art workshops for crippled and wounded soldiers."

“The greatest intuitionist of the century”, by the definition of A. M. Gorky, N. K. Roerich expressed his disturbing forebodings in symbolic images on the eve of the First World War: the paintings “Most Pure City - Embitterment to Enemies”, “Last Angel”, “Glow”, “ Human Affairs”, etc. They show the theme of the struggle between two principles - light and darkness, passing through the entire work of the artist, as well as the responsibility of a person for his destiny and the whole world. Nicholas Roerich not only creates anti-war paintings, but also writes articles on the protection of peace and culture.

In 1910, Roerich actively participated in the fate of the Savior on Nereditsa and Rurik's Settlement in Veliky Novgorod, he was worried about rough restorations and repairs in Yaroslavl, Pskov and Kostroma churches. In 1912, Roerich, together with A. K. Lyadov and S. M. Gorodetsky, opposed the renaming of historical places in Russia, and in 1915, N. K. Roerich made a report to Emperor Nicholas II and Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich (the younger) with a call to take serious state measures for the nationwide protection of cultural treasures, to consider the possibility of legislative approval of the Regulations on the protection of historical monuments in Russia. The draft of this Regulation will become a prototype of the future international pact for the protection of cultural property.

... Just like an undrunk cup stands Russia. An undrained cup is a full, healing spring. A fairy tale lurks among an ordinary meadow. Underground power burns with gems. Russia believes and waits.

Roerich N. K. Undrained bowl, Smentsovo, 1916

In 1916, due to a serious lung disease, N. K. Roerich, at the insistence of doctors, moved with his family to the Grand Duchy of Finland near Serdobol (Vuorio), on the coast of Lake Ladoga. Proximity to Petrograd made it possible to run the School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts.

On March 4, 1917, a month after the February Revolution, Maxim Gorky gathered a large group of artists, writers and artists in his apartment. Among those present were Roerich, Alexander Benois, Bilibin, Dobuzhinsky, Petrov-Vodkin, Shchuko, Chaliapin. The meeting elected the Commission for the Arts. M. Gorky was appointed its chairman, A. Benois and N. Roerich were appointed assistants to the chairman. The commission dealt with the development of art in Russia and the preservation of ancient monuments.

Cultural and educational activities in Europe and America

After the revolutionary events of 1917, Finland closed its borders with Russia, and Nicholas Roerich and his family found themselves cut off from their homeland.

In 1918, having received an invitation from Sweden, Nicholas Roerich held personal exhibitions of paintings with great success in Malmö and Stockholm, and in 1919 - in Copenhagen and Helsinki. Roerich was elected a member of the Artistic Society of Finland, awarded the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star, II degree. Leonid Andreev figuratively calls the world created by the artist - "Roerich's Power". In the public arena, Roerich, together with Andreev, organizes a campaign against the Bolsheviks who have seized power in Russia. He is a member of the leadership of the Scandinavian Society for Assistance to the Russian Warrior, which finances the troops of General N. N. Yudenich, after which he joins the Russian-British 1917 Brotherhood emigrant organization.

In Finland, Roerich is working on the story "The Flame", the play "Mercy", composes the main part of the future poetry collection "Flowers of Moria", writes articles and essays, creates a series of paintings dedicated to Karelia.

In the same year, 1919, Roerich and his family come to London, hoping to fulfill his old dream from there - to go to India. However, due to financial difficulties, he has to stay in London. In the autumn of 1920, at the invitation of S. P. Diaghilev, Roerich designed Russian operas in London to the music of M. P. Mussorgsky and A. P. Borodin. Roerich is closely acquainted with Rabindranath Tagore, maintains warm relations with H. G. Wells, John Galsworthy, with cultural and art figures H. Wright, F. Bryangvin, A. Coates, B. Bottomley, and others. In England, Roerich successfully holds personal exhibitions under the general title "Charms of Russia" - in London, and then in Worthing.

In London, Roerich established contacts with members of the Theosophical Society and in July 1920, together with his wife, joined its English branch. In London, according to the members of the Roerich family, the first meeting of the Roerichs with their future spiritual leader, the Mahatma of the East, takes place and the records of the first book of the future Agni Yoga teaching appear.

In 1920, N. K. Roerich received an offer from the director of the Chicago Institute of Arts to organize a large-scale three-year exhibition tour of 30 US cities, as well as to create sketches for costumes and scenery for the Chicago Opera. The Roerichs move to America. Roerich's first personal exhibition in the United States was opened in December 1920 in New York. After New York, residents of another 28 US cities, including Chicago, Boston, Buffalo, Philadelphia, San Francisco, saw Roerich's paintings. The exhibitions were an exceptional success. In America, Roerich made several trips to Arizona, New Mexico, California, Monhegan Island and created a series of paintings "New Mexico", "Ocean Suite", "Dreams of Wisdom". In America, Roerich also painted a series of paintings "Sankta" (Saints) about the life of Russian saints and ascetics.

Together with exhibitions, Roerich gives lectures on Russian art, on ethical and aesthetic education, and in November 1921 in New York he opens the “Master Institute of United Arts”, the main goal of which was to bring peoples together through culture and art. Defining the tasks of the Institute, Roerich wrote:

Art will unite humanity. Art is one and indivisible. Art has many branches, but the root is one... Everyone feels the truth of beauty. The gates of the sacred spring must be opened to all. The light of art will illuminate countless hearts with new love. At first, this feeling will come unconsciously, but after that it will purify the entire human consciousness. How many young hearts are looking for something beautiful and true. Give it to them. Give art to the people where it belongs.

Roerich N.K. About art

Almost simultaneously with the Institute of United Arts in Chicago, the association of artists "Cor Ardens" ("Flaming Hearts") was established, and in 1922 the International Cultural Center "Corona Mundi" ("Crown of the World") was created. In 1923, together with Georgy Grebenshchikov, Roerich created the Alatas publishing house (Alatas), together with the New York entrepreneur L. Horsh, established the Roerich Museum (Roerich Museum), as well as commercial enterprises World Service. Pancosmos Corporation, Beluha Corporation.

In 1921, a collection of poems by N. K. Roerich - “Flowers of Moria” was published in Berlin, in 1922 the book “Adamant” (“Adamant”) was published in New York, in 1924 in Paris and Riga - the book “Ways of Blessing” and an album of paintings. In 1922-1923, two new monographs on the life and work of Roerich were published - "The World of Roerich: A Biography" (1922) and "Roerich" (1923). In 1924, the first book of Agni Yoga, Leaves of the Garden of Morya, written with the participation of Roerich, was published in Paris.

On May 8, 1923, Roerich left America with his wife and youngest son and went to Paris, and then to India, where a large-scale Central Asian expedition was organized under the leadership of Roerich. After that, Roerich visited the United States three times - in 1924, 1929 and 1934 for a very short time.

Central Asian expedition

general information

The events of the first Central Asian expedition were reflected in the diaries of N. K. Roerich "Altai-Himalayas" and Yu. N. Roerich "Along the paths of Central Asia", as well as the diaries of other participants in the Tibetan journey, in which attention is drawn to the special "Buddhist mission" of the expedition to Lhasa (Ryabinin, Portnyagin, Kordashevsky). There are also a number of declassified documents of Soviet, British and German intelligence about the activities of the Roerichs during the expedition.

On December 2, 1923, Nicholas Roerich and his family arrived from Paris to India, where he established cultural and business ties. The Roerichs cover over three thousand kilometers, visiting Bombay, Jaipur, Agra, Sarnath, Benares, Calcutta and Darjeeling (Sikkim). In Sikkim, the Roerichs determine the future route of the expedition, and in September 1924, Roerich and his youngest son make a trip to America and Europe to obtain the necessary permits and documents (officially, the expedition was declared American). After Europe, at the beginning of 1925, Roerich visited Indonesia, Ceylon, Madras. And then the main stage of the expedition begins, which passed through Kashmir, Ladakh, China (Xinjiang), Russia (with a stop in Moscow), Siberia, Altai, Mongolia, Tibet, through the unexplored regions of the Trans-Himalayas. The expedition continued until 1928.

During the expedition, archaeological and ethnographic research was carried out in unexplored parts of Asia, rare manuscripts were found, linguistic materials, folklore works were collected, descriptions of local customs were made, books were written (“Heart of Asia”, “Altai - Himalayas”), about five hundred paintings were created, on which the artist displayed a picturesque panorama of the expedition route, a series of paintings "Himalayas" was started, the series "Maitreya", "The Sikkim Way", "His Country", "Teachers of the East" and others were created.

In the process of preparing the expedition, the Roerichs, together with the American businessman Louis Horch, created two business corporations in New York - "Ur" and "Belukha", which had the goal of conducting a wide business enterprise on the territory of the Soviet Union. Being in Moscow during the expedition, Nicholas Roerich wanted to achieve registration, in accordance with Soviet laws, of the Belukha Corporation for the development of deposits. The Roerichs visited Altai with a scientific, reconnaissance and ethnographic expedition, selecting places for the proposed concessions and studying the possibility of "organizing a cultural and industrial center in the area of ​​Belukha Mountain."

The first Central Asian expedition of N. K. Roerich took place in several stages. Upon arrival in Mongolia, it developed into an independent Tibetan journey, now known as the Western Buddhist Mission to Lhasa (1927-1928). By its nature, the Tibetan expedition was not just artistic and archaeological, but, according to its leader, Roerich, had the status of a diplomatic embassy on behalf of the "Union of Western Buddhists". Roerich was considered by his entourage on the expedition as the "Western Dalai Lama".

In the autumn of 1927, under pressure from British intelligence, the expedition was detained by the Tibetan authorities on the outskirts of Lhasa and spent five months in snow captivity high in the mountains at sub-zero temperatures on the Changtang plateau. The expedition was never allowed into Lhasa and was forced, at the cost of incredible difficulties and losses, to break through to India. The Central Asian expedition ended in Darjeeling, where scientific work was launched to process its results.

Versions and interpretations

There are several versions of what was the main purpose of the Roerichs' trip to the Central Asian expedition, and there is no consensus.

• Artistic and ethnographic purposes

  The version about the exclusively artistic and ethnographic goals of Roerich's Central Asian expedition is described in the works of Pavel Belikov and Lyudmila Shaposhnikova. Belikov wrote Roerich's biography in 1972, when additional sources about the expedition were not yet available.

• Execution of undercover tasks of the OGPU

  There is a widespread version that Roerich was an agent of the Comintern and the OGPU, and the expedition was organized with the money of Soviet intelligence, the purpose of which was to overthrow the Dalai Lama XIII. This version was first presented by Oleg Shishkin in his series of articles and in the book "Battle for the Himalayas". Currently, this version is considered controversial.

• political goals. Construction of the "New Country"

  In accordance with the version of Vladimir Rosov, Roerich was involved in big politics, trying to fulfill the utopian dream of a "New Country". According to Rosov, Roerich worked out a general plan for "United Asia", the main thesis of which was to combine the teachings of Buddhism with communist ideology on a national scale.

• Search for Shambhala

  According to this version, the Roerichs went on a Central Asian expedition to find Shambhala, and not to study plants, ethnology and languages. The version about both spiritual and political goals of the search for Shambhala is supported by the historian Andrei Znamensky in his book “Red Shambhala”.

Spiritual sessions. "Automatic Writing"

In the secular environment of St. Petersburg, a passion for spiritism was widespread, and since 1900 Nicholas Roerich participated in spiritualistic experiments. Since the spring of 1920, seances have been held in the Roerichs' house, to which friends and high-ranking dignitaries have been invited. The method of "automatic writing" was mastered.

Direct records by automatic writing were made mainly by N. K. Roerich, and partly by his son Yuri. Roerich made a series of pencil portraits in a trance, which depict Eastern Teachers - Buddha, Lao Tzu, Sister Oriola, Roerich's Teacher Allal-Ming and others. According to E. I. Roerich, her husband’s article “On the freedom of movement of objects of art” (1924) was “given” by automatic writing.

Here is how V. A. Shibaev (later Roerich’s secretary) describes their first joint seance:

I was invited to the artist Academician N. K. Roerich on the evening of June 2, 1920 and, as usual, sat with his son in the latter's room, talking about various scientific topics. I did not know that nearby Nikolai Konstantinovich and his wife, together with their youngest son, were engaged in spiritualistic experiments. I also didn't know that they were asking their leaders to let me join the circle. But having secured a positive response, I was asked to come in and sit down at a table. There was full light in the room, and I clearly saw that there was no possibility of deceit. The table trembled nervously and jumped up, and when they asked him who it was (there was a conditional knock: once - yes; twice - no; three times - reinforced yes), whether it was the Teacher, the table jumped up and hit once. Then there was a sequential message of letters. Namely, one of those present called the alphabet in continuous order, and when the letter was pronounced, a knock followed. So several phrases were collected.

The Roerichs' seances are also known from their intra-family correspondence and diary entries, where there is evidence that at seances with the Roerichs' table, "the souls of dead people" were called up.

During spiritualistic seances of "table-turning", which were not an end in itself, the Roerichs tried to establish contact with the Teachers (Mahatmas), which, in their opinion, they managed to do from the second half of 1921. Later, the Roerichs began to forbid their entourage from using spiritualistic sessions, and the Roerich family no longer needed the help of the table to introduce their "interlocutors" and to "hear" them. Researchers involved in the Roerich movement believe that real meetings of the Roerichs with the Mahatmas took place. Sufficient evidence for the existence of mahatmas is lacking.

According to some Soviet researchers, Roerich developed a sharply negative attitude towards spiritualism after attending séances, and Roerich's worldview has no roots in occult-spiritual "revelations". Roerich himself did not consider himself a mystic (just like some of his colleagues), believing that the desire to "know the subtlest energies" is not mysticism, but the search for truth.

Merging Buddhism with Communism. "Mahatma Lenin"

After the October Revolution, Roerich stood in open opposition to the Soviet regime, wrote accusatory articles in the émigré press. However, soon his views suddenly changed, and the Bolsheviks found themselves in the category of Roerich's ideological allies. In the autumn of 1924, he left America for Europe, where he visited the Soviet representative office in Berlin, met with Plenipotentiary N. N. Krestinsky and then with his assistant G. A. Astakhov.

The ideological closeness to communism manifested itself among the Roerichs in literature. The Mongolian edition of The Community (1926), one of the books of Agni Yoga, contained frequent references to Lenin and drew parallels between the communist community and the Buddhist one. In fact, it gave instructions to the Soviet government on the need to immediately implement the reforms initiated by Lenin (which was not done), to spiritualize communism with Buddhist teachings, and also gave instructions on the inadmissibility of a violent community. Later, a "universal" version of the book was published (2nd ed., Riga, 1936) - without mentioning the names of Lenin and Marx, and the word "commune" was replaced by the word "community". For example, in paragraph 64 of the "Communities" of 1936, there are no longer those words that were in the 1926 edition: " Accept the appearance of Lenin as a sign of the sensitivity of the Cosmos».

In Khotan, the Roerichs got the famous letter of the Mahatmas to be handed over to the Soviet government and a casket with Himalayan earth on the grave of “Mahatma Lenin”. Roerich handed over all the gifts personally to People's Commissar Chicherin in June 1926, and he transferred them to the Lenin Institute. Also in Khotan, on October 5, 1925, the artist conceived the painting "Lenin's Mountain", which is now stored in the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum. The picture clearly shows the easily recognizable image of Lenin. Later, Roerich renamed the painting "The Phenomenon of the Term", but in Moscow it appeared under its original name, about which Roerich wrote in his own hand: "Lenin's Mountain".

Mount Lenin rises like a cone between two wings of a white ridge. Lama whispers: "Lenin was not against true Buddhism"

From the manuscript of the expeditionary diary of N. K. Roerich "Altai-Himalayas", preserved in the archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation (Moscow), entry dated 02.10.1925.

The People's Commissar of Education A. V. Lunacharsky, Roerich handed over the paintings of the Maitreya series, which were not accepted by any Soviet museum, since the art commission considered them non-communist and decadent, and they hung for a long time in the dacha of M. Gorky.

In 1934, Roerich began to feel a strong dislike for the communists. In public speeches in Harbin, he opposed himself to both the fascists and the communists: "Bolshevism is a dark, destructive force." In 1935, he published in the émigré press an essay "Protection", in which he expressed outrage at acts of vandalism in Soviet Russia.

The extensive scientific material collected by the Roerichs during the expedition required systematization and processing, and at the end of the expedition on July 12, 1928, the Institute of Himalayan Research was founded in New York, and then in the Western Himalayas, in the Kullu Valley, N. K. Roerich founded the Institute " Urusvati”, which in Sanskrit means “Light of the Morning Star”. Here, in Kullu, the last period of the artist's life will pass. Yuri Roerich, the eldest son of Nicholas Roerich, an orientalist, becomes the director of the Institute. He also supervised ethnological-linguistic research and exploration of archaeological sites.

Medical, zoological, botanical, biochemical and many other laboratories worked at the Institute. A lot of work was done in the field of linguistics and philology of the East. Rare written sources of centuries ago were collected and translated into European languages, half-forgotten dialects were studied. Invited experts and temporary employees collected botanical and zoological collections.

Dozens of scientific institutions from Europe, America and Asia cooperated with the Institute. He sent scientific materials to the University of Michigan, the New York Botanical Garden, Punjab University, the Paris Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, and the Botanical Garden of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Academician N. I. Vavilov, a well-known Soviet botanist and geneticist, turned to the Urusvati Institute for scientific information, and also received seeds from there for his unique botanical collection. Such outstanding scientists as Albert Einstein, Louis de Broglie, Robert Milliken, Sven Gedin and others collaborated with the institute. Since 1931, the institute published a yearbook in which the results of the scientific activities of its employees were published. Scientific and periodical publications in Asia, Europe and America published articles on special issues being developed in Urusvati.

Soon a world crisis broke out, then a world war. The Institute of Himalayan Research was deprived of opportunities for activity and was mothballed. At present, there is also a critical opinion about the activities of the institute as having no independent scientific evaluation, unconfirmed by specialists in the field of medicine, psychology and anthropology.

Master Building and conflict with Luis Horch

In 1922, Roerich met a prosperous New York broker, Louis L. Horch. Horsch and his wife Nettie came under the strong influence of Roerich's personality and as a result became the most generous of his followers.

In 1925, while Roerich was in Asia, Horsch began the implementation of Roerich's largest project in the United States - the construction of the Master Building ( The Master Building, the name can be translated as the House of the Teacher or the House of the Master). The Master Building was a 29-story Art Deco skyscraper with the Roerich Museum and The Master Institute of United Arts on the first two floors, and an apartment hotel on the top two floors. For the construction of the building in 1923, a public organization was established - the Roerich Museum, managed by President L. Horsch and the Board of Trustees, N. K. Roerich was elected Honorary President. Funding sources were Horsch's donations and a bond issue.

The Master's House was inaugurated in November 1929. The museum's collection included more than a thousand paintings by Roerich (most of which were bought for the museum by Horsham), works of Tibetan art, and a library of Tibetan manuscripts. An auditorium for 300 seats was intended for holding public events. The Institute of United Arts organized classes in painting, sculpture, architecture and design. With the opening of the Master's House, Roerich's popularity in the United States reached its highest point.

Horsch helped Roerich in his other undertakings - he financed the Guru expeditions and the enterprises organized by him, primarily the Ur and Belukha concessions. Since 1929, all the commercial undertakings of Roerich and Horsch were unsuccessful. Roerich's Manchurian expedition of 1934-35 (see below) turned, as it was perceived from the USA, into a continuous scandal; the American press accused Roerich of "humiliating the US government." Horsch's trust in Roerich, initially unlimited, gradually turned out to be more and more undermined. In August 1935, a crisis broke out - Horsch finally left Roerich's obedience.

Horsch, as the President of the Roerich Museum and its creditor, had a significant influence on the Board of Attorneys. As it turned out, control over the House of the Master essentially belonged to Horch, and Roerich disposed of it insofar as Horch was ready to voluntarily obey him. As a result of a series of scandals, seizures of property and lawsuits, the Roerich Museum and the Institute were closed by 1938, the building fell under the control of Horsch.

Horsch initiated an audit by the US tax service, which revealed N.K. Roerich's non-payment of income tax in the amount of $48,000, and also won a lawsuit against Roerich in the amount of $200,000. Together with Roerich's break with G. E. Wallace, claims against Roerich by the US Government, the critical attitude of the American press towards Roerich, these debts led to the fact that Roerich could never return to the USA. Roerich and Horsch never reconciled.

Manchurian expedition

Roerich shared the ideas of the Eurasian role of Russia and pan-Mongolism common among the Russian intelligentsia of the early 20th century, and after analyzing the trends in world politics and the prophecies collected in the Central Asian expedition, he comes to the conclusion that the mid-1930s may be marked by the unfolding of the process of "unification of Asia", which will begin with Mongolia, Manchuria, northern China and southern and southeastern Siberia. Wishing to take part in this process if possible, he organizes through the American Department of Agriculture a long-term expedition to Manchuria and northern China. In 1930, Roerich became friends with G. E. Wallace, who, having become the Minister of Agriculture in the administration of Franklin Roosevelt, sent Roerich on an expedition to collect plant seeds that prevent the destruction of fertile soil layers.

The expedition started on April 28, 1934 from Seattle to Yokohama (Japan), from where Roerich and his eldest son left for Kyoto on May 24, 1935. In Japan, the Roerichs are received at the highest government level. Roerich attends numerous cultural events, gives lectures, and meets with members of the government. An agreement was concluded with the Japanese side to hold an exhibition of Roerich's paintings, which opened in Kyoto in the same year. At the same time, the “Committee of the Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace” was organized in Japan under the leadership of G. I. Chertkov.

On May 30, 1934, Roerich and his son arrived in Harbin, from where the scientific part of the expedition, consisting of two routes, started. The first route included the Khingan ridge and the Barga plateau (1934), the second - the Gobi, Ordos and Alashan deserts (1935). These routes passed through the territory of Inner Mongolia, located in the northern and northeastern part of modern China. The artist painted many sketches, conducted archaeological research, collected materials on linguistics and folklore. Roerich wrote 222 essays for the "Diary Sheets" over the course of 17 months, which reflect expeditionary work, touch on scientific and philosophical topics. As a result of the expedition, about 300 species of drought-resistant herbs were found, medicinal plants were collected. 2,000 parcels of seeds were sent to America. The results of the research were published by one of the expedition members, the botanist Y. L. Keng, in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. He pointed out in the article five herbs unknown to science, one of which was named after Roerich - Stipa roerichii. Also presented was a report by botanist T. P. Gordeev, devoted to the description of vegetation in the Barga and Greater Khingan region, and reports by Yu. N. Roerich on surveys in Northern Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace, who initiated the expedition, subsequently reported that almost all of the seeds found were either of little or no value.

However, during the expedition, Roerich, largely ignoring the mission entrusted to him, plunged into Asian politics, in vain inciting the Buddhist masses to revolution. Roerich's first business meeting after leaving the United States on an expedition was in Japan with Minister of War Hayashi Senjuro, and the purpose of the meeting was to explore the possibilities of creating a new state in northeast Asia. During the expedition, Roerich and his son Yuri not only formally collaborated with emigre organizations such as the Military Monarchist Union, the Military Cossack Union, the Legitimists, but also took concrete steps, for example, provided financial assistance to the Siberian Cossack Host and bought the newspaper Russkoe Slovo » for the Russian All-Military Union.

In Harbin, Roerich founded the "Russian Committee of the Roerich Pact in Harbin" and the agricultural cooperative "Alatyr", the publishing department of which published Roerich's new book "Sacred Watch", as well as the books "The Banner of Peace. Russian Committee of the Roerich Pact in Harbin” and “The Religious Works of Academician N. K. Roerich” by M. Schmidt.

Roerich was the most active among the numerous Russian emigration, becoming a notable cultural leader. This caused dissatisfaction with the US authorities, on whose behalf and at whose expense the expedition was carried out. It also attracted the attention of the White Guard counterintelligence, which, having established the fact of Roerich's visit to Moscow and his theosophical hobbies, fanned a scandal in the press. The Japanese authorities, supported by pro-Japanese circles, were dissatisfied with Roerich's work to unite emigration in the Far East and carried out a campaign in the Harbin press to discredit Roerich's cultural mission. Japanese censorship arrested the entire print run of N. K. Roerich's book "Sacred Watch" printed in the printing house. After the publication of a scandalous article in the Chicago Tribune in June 1935, which reported on military preparations for an expedition near the borders of Mongolia, Minister Wallace broke off relations with the Roerichs, as they could ruin his reputation in the eyes of voters.

The expedition was prematurely terminated in Shanghai on September 21, 1935. The deprivation of support from G. Wallace and businessman L. Horsch at the end of 1935 led to the destruction of the activities of all Roerich institutions in the United States.

Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace

Roerich's concept of culture

In his philosophical and artistic essays, Roerich creates a 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. "Culture rests on Beauty and Knowledge" he wrote. And he repeated the famous phrase of Dostoevsky with a slight correction: "Awareness of Beauty will save the world". Beauty is known by a person only through Culture, an integral part of which is creativity. This is also mentioned in the books of Living Ethics, the direct participation in the creation of which was taken by the Roerichs. Elena Ivanovna wrote down, and Nikolai Konstantinovich displayed the ideas of the Living Ethics in artistic images.

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. Nicholas Roerich formulated the fundamental difference between Culture and civilization. If Culture is related to the spiritual world of a person in his creative self-expression, then civilization is only an external arrangement of human life in all its material, civil aspects. Identification of civilization and Culture, Nicholas Roerich argued, leads to a confusion of these concepts, to an underestimation of the spiritual factor in the development of mankind. He wrote that “Wealth in itself does not yet give Culture. But the expansion and refinement of thinking and the feeling of Beauty give that refinement, that nobility of spirit, which distinguishes a cultured person. It is he who can build a bright future for his country.”. Proceeding from this, humanity must not only develop Culture, but must also protect it.

Creation and signing of the Pact

In 1928, N. K. Roerich, in collaboration with G. G. Shklyaver, Doctor of International Law and Political Sciences of the University of Paris, prepared a draft Treaty for the Protection of Cultural Property (the Roerich Pact). Together with the Treaty, N. K. Roerich proposes a distinctive sign for identifying objects of protection - the Banner of Peace, which is a white cloth with a red circle and three red circles inscribed in it, symbolizing the unity of the past, present and future in the circle of eternity, according to another version - religion , art and science in the circle of culture.

For international cultural activities and the initiative of the Pact in 1929, Roerich was nominated by the co-author of the Pact Shklyaver G. G. for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1929, the text of the draft Treaty with an accompanying appeal by N. K. Roerich to the governments and peoples of all countries was published in the press and sent to government, scientific, artistic and educational institutions around the world, and international conferences were held. As a result, committees were formed in a number of countries in support of the Pact, and the World League of Culture was also established. The draft of the Pact was approved by the Museum Committee of the League of Nations, as well as by the Pan American Union.

Roerich hoped that the Pact would have educational value. “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 school days will educate the younger generation with noble ideas about preserving the true values ​​of all mankind”- said Nicholas Roerich. The idea of ​​the Pact was supported by Romain Rolland, Bernard Shaw, Rabindranath Tagore, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Herbert Wells and others.

The US State Department considered the pact "useless, weak and unenforceable". On August 30, 1933, the government announced the uselessness of the Roerich Pact, since all the points of this document were already included in the Hague Convention of 1907, adopted by the United States at the state level. However, the approval of the treaty by President F. Roosevelt and the propaganda of the Pact by Minister Henry Wallace, who at that time considered Roerich his Guru, prevailed over the opposition of the State Department. The signing of the Pact took place on April 15, 1935 at the White House in Washington with the personal participation of Franklin Roosevelt. The document was ratified by 10 out of 21 countries of the American continent.

The signing of the Roerich Pact received a great response both in America and in Europe. This allowed Roerich to make a second attempt to achieve the Nobel Peace Prize, about which the employees of the Roerich Museum in New York received the corresponding task, having gone to Europe with a package of letters of recommendation. Henry Wallace, the day after the signing of the Pact, sent letters to 15 recipients, including Bernard Hansen, Vice President of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, and also to the President himself, Dr. Frederick Stang, expressing the official opinion that "Professor Roerich could be the most preferred candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize".

However, Roerich did not receive the Nobel Prize again, and on June 23 a scandal erupted in America, provoked by an article by Beijing journalist John Powell in the Chicago Tribune newspaper, and concerning Roerich's Manchurian expedition. As a result of the scandal, Henry Wallace terminated the Roerich expedition ahead of schedule and did everything to annul the Pact. To do this, on October 24, 1935, he sent a series of letters to officials and ambassadors of Latin American states and almost all European powers, reporting on "those who fanatically continue their politics, raising the name, not the ideal"(total in 57 countries). Having lost faith in Roerich, Wallace even tried to rename the Roerich Pact.

The Roerich Pact was the first international act specifically dedicated to the protection of cultural property, the only agreement in this area adopted by a part of the international community before World War II. In 1949, at the 4th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, it was decided to start work on international legal regulation in the field of the protection of cultural property in the event of an armed conflict. 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".

The ideas of the Pact were also reflected in the art of Nicholas Roerich. The emblem of the "Banner of Peace" can be seen on many of his canvases of the thirties. The painting "Madonna-Oriflamma" is specially dedicated to the Pact.

Indian period

Since the end of 1935, Roerich has been permanently living in India (Northern Himalayas, Kullu Valley, Naggar). This period is one of the most fruitful in Roerich's work. For 12 years, the artist has written more than a thousand paintings, two new books and several volumes of literary essays. In 1936, the books "Gate to the Future" and "Indestructible" were published in Riga, and in 1939 one of the largest monographs on Roerich's work with essays by Vsevolod Ivanov and Erich Hollerbach was published. In addition, at least eight major studies on Roerich's work are being published in Riga, the USA and India. In 1936, the first doctoral dissertation on Roerich's pedagogical method was defended in New York.

Cooperation with the cultural centers of America and Europe continues. In 1937, the Nicholas Roerich Museum was officially opened in Riga, which exhibited more than 40 paintings by the artist, and the First Congress of the Baltic Roerich Societies was also held. On June 16, 1938, the Russian Cultural and Historical Museum in Prague opens a separate Roerich hall, which displays more than 15 major works by the artist. The Nicholas Roerich Museum in Bruges is successfully operating under the Roerich Foundation, where 18 Roerich paintings are exhibited. King Leopold grants the museum the title "in memory of King Albert". Since 1932, under the patronage of the Yugoslav King Alexander I, 21 paintings by Nicholas Roerich have been exhibited in the Belgrade Museum of Prince Paul. Since 1933, a permanent exhibition of 10 paintings by N. K. Roerich has been held in Zagreb at the Museum of the Academy of Sciences. There is a museum of Nicholas Roerich in Paris (in the Palais Royal, where at least 19 paintings are exhibited).

In the United States, in 1936, Roerich's students organized the Arsuna Art Center (Santa Fe), and in 1937 they founded the Flamma Cultural Promotion Association (Liberty, Indiana), which attracted a wide range of cultural figures for cooperation and began publishing books and magazine of the same name. The magazine was published in India and edited from India and the USA. In 1938, the Nicholas Roerich Academy of Arts was opened in New York, continuing the traditions of the United Arts Institute.

Roerich's work is especially revered in India. From 1932 to 1947, 18 major exhibitions of Roerich's paintings were held in different cities of India (Benares (1932), Allahabad (1933), Lucknow (1936), Trivandrum (1938), Hyderabad (1939), Trivandrum (1939), Ahmedabad (1939). ), Mysore (1939), Lahore (1940), Bombay (1940), Trivandrum (1941), Indore (1941), Baroda (1941), Ahmedabad (1941), Madras (1941), Mysore (1942), Hyderabad (1943 -1944), Delhi (1947)). Paintings are purchased by Indian museums and collectors. Since 1932, the Roerich Center for Art and Culture has been operating in Allahabad, India. The center holds numerous exhibitions of Indian artists, is engaged in publishing and lecturing activities. The work of the center did not stop even during the Second World War. In 1932, a separate hall of 12 paintings by N. K. Roerich was organized in the Bharat Bhala Bhavan Museum (Varanasi). On February 19, 1934, a special hall of Roerich was opened in the Allahabad Municipal Museum, the collection of which is replenished until 1937 and consists of 19 paintings by the artist. In 1940 in the gallery. Sri Chitralayama (Trivandrum) for the paintings of N. K. Roerich was allocated a separate wing of two halls. In the same place in Trivandrum, two monographs on the work of N. K. Roerich are published, which have undergone several reprints.

Attempts to return home

Since 1936, Roerich has been striving to return to his homeland: “In 1926, it was agreed that in ten years both artistic and scientific work would be completed. Since 1936, letters and requests began. GG Shklyaver informed that Surits offered to donate four paintings to museums. Our French society wrote to the Supreme Soviet about the Pact. Wrote to the Art Committee. They sent books. Waiting for news". In 1937, Roerich, first through the Paris Roerich Center, and then personally, appealed to the Soviet leadership about the possibility of the USSR joining the Roerich Pact - "full of the thought of serving the Motherland", discusses through the USSR Ambassador to France Surits ways of returning to his homeland. On the advice of the ambassador, in 1938 Roerich turned to the Committee for Arts of the USSR with a request to accept three paintings as a gift. In the same 1938, Roerich wrote a letter to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the USSR: "...Me and my family members are striving now to bring their knowledge and creativity within the borders of the Motherland". However, all the efforts made were unsuccessful. Roerich did not receive a response to the appeals sent.

In 1938, People's Commissar of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the USSR M. M. Litvinov turned to I. V. Stalin about Roerich's desire to return with his family to the USSR. Gives Roerich a positive response. Stalin writes a resolution: "Do not answer".

In 1939, Roerich instructed the employees of the Latvian Roerich Society to obtain Soviet visas through the Soviet embassy in Latvia. The head of the Latvian Roerich Society, Rudzitis, writes in his diary: "... a letter was received in which Roerich expresses his desire to return to his homeland". But even these efforts are not successful. Roerich's last appeal with a request to return to his homeland was in 1947 - a few weeks before his death.

The Second World War

While in India, Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich from the very first days of World War II uses every opportunity to help Russia. Together with his younger son Svyatoslav Roerich, he arranges exhibitions and the sale of paintings, and transfers all the proceeds to the fund of the Soviet Red Cross and the Red Army. He writes articles in newspapers, speaks on the radio in support of the Soviet people.

During the war years, the artist again turns to the theme of the Motherland in his work. During this period, he creates a number of paintings - "Igor's Campaign", "Alexander Nevsky", "Partisans", "Victory", "Bogatyrs woke up" and others, in which he uses images of Russian history and predicts the victory of the Russian people over fascism.

... Anyone who takes up arms against the Russian people will feel it on his back. Not a threat, but the thousand-year history of peoples said so. Various pests and enslavers bounced off, and the Russian people in their boundless virgin lands dug out new treasures. That's how it's supposed to be. History keeps evidence of the highest justice, which has already said menacingly many times: “Do not hinder!”.

N. K. Roerich's "Diary Sheets" contains many pages dedicated to the military and labor feat of the Soviet people.

In 1942, before the Battle of Stalingrad, Nicholas Roerich hosted the freedom fighter of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his daughter, Indira Gandhi, in Kullu. Together they discussed the fate of the new world, in which the long-awaited freedom of the conquered peoples would triumph. " We talked about the Indo-Russian Cultural Association, - Roerich wrote in his diary, - it's time to think about useful, constructive cooperation...". Indira Gandhi recalled:

My father and I had the good fortune to know Nicholas Roerich. He was one of the most impressive people I have ever met. He combined a modern scientist and an ancient sage. He lived in the Himalayas for many years and comprehended the spirit of these mountains, reflecting their countless moods and combinations of colors. The paintings of Nicholas Roerich inspired many new trends among our artists.

When the Nazi troops occupied many territories of the USSR, Nicholas Roerich turned to his employees with a request to serve the cause of mutual understanding between the peoples of the two powers - Russia and the USA. In 1942, the American-Russian Cultural Association (ARKA) was founded in New York. Active collaborators included Ernest Hemingway, Rockwell Kent, Charlie Chaplin, Emil Cooper, Sergei Koussevitzky, P. Geddas, V. Tereshchenko. The activities of the association were welcomed by world-famous scientists Robert Milliken and Arthur Compton.

last years of life

In India, Nicholas Roerich was personally acquainted with famous Indian philosophers, scientists, writers, and public figures.

In India, the artist continues to work on a series of paintings "The Himalayas", comprising more than two thousand canvases. For Roerich, the mountain world is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Art critics noted the new direction in his work and called him "the master of the mountains." In India, the series "Shambala", "Genghis Khan", "Kuluta", "Kulu", "Holy Mountains", "Tibet", "Ashrams", etc. were written. The master's exhibitions were exhibited in various cities of India and were visited by a large number of people .

After the end of the war, the artist asked for a visa to enter the Soviet Union for the last time, but on December 13, 1947, he passes away without knowing that he was refused a visa.

In the Kullu Valley, on the site of a funeral pyre, a large rectangular stone was erected, on which the inscription was carved:

“The body of Maharishi Nicholas Roerich, a great friend of India, was burnt at this place on the 30th Maghar 2004 of the Vikram era, December 15, 1947. OM RAM (Let there be peace).

Love Motherland. Love the Russian people. Love all peoples in all the vastness of our Motherland. May this love teach you to love all of humanity. Love the Motherland with all your might - and she will love you. We are rich in the love of the Motherland. Wider road! The builder is coming! The Russian people are coming!

Testament of Nicholas Roerich

Awards

• Cavalier of the Russian orders of St. Stanislav, St. Anna and St. Vladimir.
• Cavalier of the Yugoslav Order of Saint Sava.
• Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor of France.
• Knight of the Royal Swedish Order of the Polar Star.

List of organizations, of which N. K. Roerich was a member

• Active member of the Russian Academy of Arts (Russian Empire).
• Member of the Russian Archaeological Society (Russian Empire).
• Member and one of the founders of the Society for the Revival of Artistic Russia (Russian Empire).
• Member of the public "Commission for the Study and Description of Old Petersburg" (Russian Empire).
• Member of the Board of Trustees of the St. Eugene (Russian Empire).
• Member of the Mussar Mondays Society (Russian Empire).
• Chairman of the artistic association "World of Art" (Russian Empire).
• Member of the Union of Russian Artists (Russian Empire).
• Member of the Society for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments of Art and Antiquity in Russia (Russian Empire).
• Member and one of the founders of the Society of Artists. A. I. Kuindzhi (Russian Empire).
• Member of the Board of the Society of Architects-Artists (Russian Empire).
• Member of the Society of Fine Arts under the League of Education (Russian Empire).
• Member of the artistic and literary section of the "Russian Assembly" (Russian Empire).
• Active member of the Reims Academy (France).
• Member of the Prehistoric Society (France).
• Honorary Member of the More Society (France).
• Member of the Red Cross (France).
• Member of the Society for the Study of Antiquities (France).
• Life member of the Federation of French Artists (France).
• Member of the Autumn Salon (France).
• Founding member of the Ethnographic Society (France).
• Life member of the Society of Antiquaries (France).
• Honorary Member of the Luzas Society (France).
• Honorary Member of the League for the Defense of the Arts (France).
• Member of the Art Society of Finland (Finland).
• Founder of the Institute of United Arts in New York (USA).
• Founder of the International Cultural Center "Corona Mundi" (USA).
• Honorary Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York and its branches in Europe, America and the countries of the East.
• Active member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Zagreb).
• Active member of the Portuguese Academy (Coimbra).
• Active member of the International Institute of Science and Literature (Bologna, Italy).
• Honorary Member of the Committee for Culture (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
• Vice President of the Mark Twain Society (USA).
• Vice President of the American Institute of Archeology (USA).
• Honorary Member of the Benares Enlightenment Society (India).
• Honorary President of the International Union in Support of the Roerich Pact (Bruges).
• Honorary patron of the Historical Society at the Academy (Paris).
• Honorary President of the Roerich Society in France (Paris).
• Honorary President of the Roerich Academy (New York).
• Honorary President of the Flamma Society for Cultural Progress (Indiana, USA).
• Honorary President of the Roerich Society in Philadelphia (USA).
• Honorary Member of the Society for the Preservation of Historic Monuments (New York).
• Honorary President of the Latvian Roerich Society (Riga).
• Honorary President of the Roerich Societies in Lithuania, Yugoslavia, China.
• Honorary member of the Subhas Chandra Bose Institute (Calcutta).
• Member of the Jagadis Bose Institute (India).
• Member of the Nagati Prachari Sabha (India).
• Life Member of the Royal Asiatic Society in Bengal (Calcutta).
• Life member of the Oriental Art Society (Calcutta).
• Honorary President and Doctor of Literature of the International Institute for the Study of Buddhism in San Francisco (California) International Buddhist Institute (USA).
• Honorary member of the Russian Museum of History and Culture in Prague (Czechoslovakia).
• Patron of the Cultural Society (Amritsar, India).
• Charitable member of the Association for International Studies (Paris).
• Honorary Member of the Field Association (St. Louis, USA).
• Honorary Member of the Braurveda Society (Java).
• Honorary Member of the National Association of Natural Medicine in America (Los Angeles, California).
• Honorary President of the Center for Arts and Culture (Allahabad, India).
• President of the World League of Culture (USA).
• Honorary President of the American-Russian Cultural Association in New York (USA).

The main works of N. K. Roerich

• Art and archeology // Art and art industry. SPb., 1898. No. 3; 1899. No. 4-5.
• Some Antiquities of the Shelon Pyatina and the Bezhetsky End. St. Petersburg, 31 pages, drawings by the author, 1899.
• Excursion of the Archaeological Institute in 1899 in connection with the issue of Finnish burials in the St. Petersburg province. St. Petersburg, 14 pages, 1900.
• Some antiquities of the pyatins of Derevskaya and Bezhetskaya. St. Petersburg, 30 pages, 1903.
• In the old days, St. Petersburg, 1904, 18 pages, drawings by the author.
• Stone Age on Lake Piros., St. Petersburg, ed. "Russian Archaeological Society", 1905.
• Collected works. Book. 1. M.: Publishing House of I. D. Sytin, 335 pages, 1914.
• Tales and parables. Pg.: Free Art, 1916.
• Violators of Art. London, 1919.
• Morya flowers. Berlin: Slovo, 128 pp., Collection of poems. 1921.
• adamant. New York: Corona Mundi, 1922.
• Ways of Blessing. New York, Paris, Riga, Harbin: Alatas, 1924.
• Altai - Himalayas. (Thoughts on a horse and in a tent) 1923-1926. Ulaanbaatar, Hoto, 1927.
• Heart of Asia. Southbury (st. Connecticut): Alatas, 1929.
• Flame in Chalice. Series X, Book 1. Songs and Sagas Series. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1930.
• Shambhala. New York: F. A. Stokes Co., 1930.
• Realm of Light. Series IX, Book II. Sayings of Eternity Series. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1931.
• State of Light. Southbury: Alatas, New York, 1931.
• Women. Appeal on the occasion of the opening of the Society for the Unity of Women, Riga, ed. Roerich Society, 1931, 15 pages, 1 reproduction.
• Flame Stronghold. Paris: World League of Culture, 1932.
• Banner of Peace. Harbin, Alatyr, 1934.
• Holy Watch. Harbin, Alatyr, 1934.
• Gateway to the Future. Riga: Uguns, 1936.
• Indestructible. Riga: Uguns, 1936.
• Roerich Essays: One hundered essays. In 2 volumes. India, 1937.
• Beautiful Unity. Bombey, 1946.
• Himavat: Diary Leaveves. Allahabad: Kitabistan, 1946.
• Himalayas - Adobe of Light. Bombey: Nalanda Publ, 1947.
• Diary sheets. T. 1 (1934-1935). M.: MCR, 1995.
• Diary sheets. T. 2 (1936-1941). M.: MCR, 1995.
• Diary sheets. T. 3 (1942-1947). M.: MCR, 1996.

Inheritance

During his lifetime, Roerich transferred all rights to his works and property to his wife - E. I. Roerich and sons. In 1939, in his spiritual testament (“Testament”), Roerich wrote: “I have no property. Pictures and copyright belong to Elena Ivanovna, Yuri and Svyatoslav.

In 1917, due to an exacerbation of lung disease, Roerich wrote his first testament: “Everything that I own, everything that I have to receive, I bequeath to my wife Helena Ivanovna Roerich. Then, when she finds it necessary, she will leave equal parts to our sons Yuri and Svyatoslav. Let them live together and in harmony and work for the benefit of the Motherland ... ". In 1924-1929, Roerich repeatedly officially bequeathed the Roerich Museum in New York to the people of America.

On April 12, 1927, during the period of the Central Asian expedition, at the USSR Embassy in Mongolia, Roerich left a will in favor of the Board of the Roerich Museum in New York, the All-Union Communist Party, E. Roerich. “In view of the possibility of false rumors about my death during a long expedition, I ask you to fulfill the above will after 1936”, - it was noted in it. Responsible were appointed from the Roerich Museum in New York - L. Horsch, M. M. Lichtman, from the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks - Consul General of the USSR in China A. E. Bystrov-Zapolsky, People's Commissar A. V. Lunacharsky.

The last official testament N. K. Roerich wrote on January 24, 1934, in which he transferred all rights to the paintings to his wife - He. I. Roerich, including paintings located in the European Roerich Center in Paris, in the Museum of the Roerich Foundation in Bruges, in museums in Belgrade and Zagreb, the Allahabad Museum and the Roerich Museum in Riga.

In 1957, part of the property of Nicholas Roerich was brought to Moscow by his eldest son Yuri. More than 400 paintings, collectibles, a collection of oriental books were transferred to the state and entered the collections of the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Novosibirsk Art Museum, the Gorlovka Art Museum, the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, etc. The most valuable paintings, family archives, works of art of peoples Yu. N. Roerich kept other things of the East in his apartment. He died in 1960, and a significant part of the legacy of N. K. Roerich continued to remain in his apartment, since the decision by the USSR Ministry of Culture to create a memorial museum-apartment was delayed. The former housekeeper of N. K. Roerich and her husband remained in the apartment, who categorically refused to give away valuables that did not belong to them.

The other part of the inheritance remained in India, in the possession of Roerich's younger son, Svyatoslav. In 1974, in connection with the celebration of the anniversary of Nicholas Roerich in the USSR, Svyatoslav Nikolaevich brought a collection of his and his father's paintings from India. The paintings were widely exhibited and were later transferred to the State Museum of the East. In 1990, another part of the father's property belonging to Svyatoslav Roerich was transferred by him to the Soviet Roerich Foundation.

Roerich movement

The emergence of the Roerich movement

The Roerich movement arose in the 1920s in such countries as the USA (New York), Latvia (Riga), France (Paris), Bulgaria (Sofia), Manchuria (Harbin), Estonia, Lithuania, etc. In 1920 In the 1930s and 1930s, Roerich societies began to be created, which set as their goal the promotion of the Roerich Pact, while simultaneously spreading the ideas of Agni Yoga (“Living Ethics”). Since 1935, after Roerich's support from businessman Louis Horch and politician Henry Wallace ceased, the movement in America began to decline, remaining active in Europe, the Baltic states and among the Russian emigration of Manchuria. After the accession of the Baltic States to the Soviet Union, the Baltic societies were closed, and their members were arrested and repressed. Members of the Manchu groups were also repressed.

One of the most active was the Roerich Society of Latvia. It was in Riga that many of the Living Ethics books were first published. This society existed before the accession of Latvia to the USSR in 1940. In a short period of time, the publishing house of the Latvian Society published about 50 books, a periodical, etc. The initiator of this publishing activity was Vladimir Anatolyevich Shibaev (1898-1975), a Riga resident. Since 1932, the publishing activity was taken over by Richard Yakovlevich Rudzitis (1898-1960), a poet and connoisseur of the culture and traditions of the East, who was invited in 1929 to translate works on philosophy. In 1937, the Baltic Societies held the Congress of the Baltic Roerich Societies, and the Roerich Museum operates in Riga.

After the Second World War in New York, Roerich's students opened a new museum of Nicholas Roerich, and organized the Agni Yoga Society. Also, Roerich societies, circles and groups existed in Italy, Germany, Switzerland (“Crown Mundi”) and a number of other countries. Groups connected with the Roerich Pact continued to operate in Latin America.

Revival of the Roerich movement

The result of Roerich's creative life was a rich legacy. Today, Roerich organizations operate in some countries of Europe, America and Asia, as well as in Australia. Roerich societies exist in such countries of the former USSR as Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia. The Roerich movement of Living Ethics admirers, which was formed in the USSR during perestroika, had a significant impact on the development of the New Age in Russia. According to the Department of State-Confessional Relations of the Russian Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation, the movement of the followers of the Roerichs belongs to the new religious movements and is an exponent of the New Age tradition, dating back to neomysticism, theosophy and anthroposophy. In 2002, the Roerich movement experienced a split, largely due to disputes over the Roerich heritage.

Roerich Museums

Roerich Museum in New York

The first Roerich Museum was founded on November 17, 1923 and officially opened to the public on March 24, 1924 in New York (310 Riverside Drive) with the help of a close circle of Roerich's associates, with the financial support of businessman Louis Horch. At the time, it was the only museum in America dedicated to the work of just one artist. Since 1929, the museum and all Roerich's institutions were located in a specially built building on the site of the former museum - the 29-story skyscraper Master Building. However, the conflict between the Roerichs and Horsch, which began in 1935, led to the closure of the museum.

Thanks to the efforts of Helena Roerich, Catherine Campbell-Stibbe and Zinaida Fosdick and other admirers and students of Nicholas Roerich, in 1949 a new museum of Nicholas Roerich was opened in New York. It is the world's oldest center representing Roerich's paintings and distributing reproductions of his paintings and numerous books about him, about his life and work. Honorary Director - Daniel Entin.

Roerich Museum in Riga (1933-1940)

The Roerich Museum in Riga began to be created in 1933 by the Latvian Roerich Society on the initiative of N. K. Roerich. The official opening of the museum took place in 1937. Forty canvases by N.K. Sergius (1936), Kuluta (1937), Himalayan and Mongolian landscapes. The museum existed until 1940. In January 2010, a memorial plaque was unveiled on the building that housed the museum.

Roerich Museum in Moscow

The Roerich Museum (a branch of the State Museum of the East) was established in February 2016 by decision of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Since mid-2017, it has been located in the Lopukhins' Estate. The museum's collection includes more than 800 paintings by Nicholas Roerich and his son Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich, a large collection of multi-temporal works of decorative and applied art from Russia, India, China, Tibet, Mongolia, Egypt and other countries, memorial items of the Roerich family.

Museum-estate of N. K. Roerich in Izvara

In the Izvara estate near St. Petersburg, since 1984, the Nicholas Roerich Estate Museum has been opened, which is a unique complex of monuments of nature, archeology, architecture, history and culture, the first State Roerich Museum in Russia. Currently, the Museum Complex is located on 60 hectares and includes 9 estate buildings of the 18th - early 20th centuries, an old park, spring lakes.

The Izvara estate was acquired in 1872 by K. F. Roerich, the artist's father. The Roerich family owned the estate from 1872 to 1900. In the 1910s, the Ministry of Justice purchased the estate from the last owners for the St. Petersburg children's agricultural colony, the architectural ensemble of which (architect A. A. Yakovlev, 1916) complemented the appearance of the estate and is currently part of the Museum complex.

The museum holds conferences, holidays, poetic and musical evenings, international peacekeeping actions. Since 2002, a comprehensive scientific expedition has been operating on the territory of the Museum-Estate to study the nature of Izvara, and archaeological research has been carried out. On July 31, 2006, the Governor of the Leningrad Region, V.P. Serdyukov, signed an Order on the development of a project for the creation of a specially protected natural area “Natural Monument” within the boundaries of the N.K. Roerich Museum-Estate in Izvara.

Museum of the Roerich family in St. Petersburg

The St. Petersburg State Cultural Institution "Museum-Institute of the Roerich Family" was established on March 12, 2007. The basis of the memorial exposition of the Museum-Institute was the legacy preserved by Helena Roerich's niece L. S. Mitusova and her family. For several years of the museum's existence, the owners of private collections have donated a number of art and other exhibits to the museum. To date, its funds include about 15 thousand items, including personal items, manuscripts, paintings, arts and crafts, archaeological finds, photographs and other exhibits related to the life and work of the Roerich family.

State Museum-Reserve. N. K. and E. I. Roerichs in the village of Verkh-Uimon

The exposition of the museum-reserve is divided into three thematic sections: the early period of creativity of N. K. Roerich, the Central Asian expedition and the Roerich Pact, the Urusvati Institute and the Indian period of creativity. Also here are books from the personal library of the Roerich family, a number of original documents and lifetime editions of N. K., E. I. and Yu. N. Roerichs. On the basis of the museum-reserve, expositions dedicated to the archeology and history of the Altai Mountains, the nature of the Uimon Valley, the culture of the Altai peoples and Russian Old Believers have been deployed.

Odessa House-Museum. N. K. Roerich

Odessa House-Museum named after N. K. Roerich is located at the address: Odessa, st. Bolshaya Arnautskaya, 47, on the 3rd floor of a 3-storey building. The exposition is located in 5 halls, including the concert hall.

Cultural and Exhibition Center on Baikal

The cultural and exhibition center on Lake Baikal emerged in 2002 on the initiative of the Irkutsk regional public organization "Roerich Cultural Creative Association". It is represented by six exhibition halls, a library, a video hall. There are permanent exhibitions dedicated to the life and work of the Roerich family. One of the exhibition halls is dedicated to the Central -Asian Expedition of N. K. Roerich (1924-1928) There are expositions dedicated to the N. K. Roerich Museum in Moscow and its general director, Academician L. V. Shaposhnikova, the Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace.

Museum of the International Center of the Roerichs in Moscow (1991-2017)

The public organization "International Center of the Roerichs" created the Museum named after Nicholas Roerich, whose director for a long time was Lyudmila Shaposhnikova.

The first permanent exhibition was opened at the museum on February 12, 1993. The halls of the museum hosted annual international scientific and public conferences with the participation of prominent scientists and public figures, exhibitions and concerts were organized, lectures were given on the Roerich heritage.

The museum was closed in 2017. In the same year, the Museum of the Roerichs (a branch of the State Museum of the East) was opened in its premises.

Exhibitions in museums

State Museum of the East

In the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, based on the collections received from K. Campbell and S. N. Roerich, the Memorial Study of N. K. Roerich, a permanent exhibition of his work and the scientific department of the Roerichs' heritage were created. Already in 1977, a specialized Roerich hall was opened in the museum in its permanent exhibition. In accordance with the requirements of the wife of S. N. Roerich, Devika Rani Roerich, who expressed her will to transfer the Roerich family heritage into the hands of the Russian state, a government decree of November 4, 1993 was adopted on the establishment of the State Roerich Museum as a branch of the State Museum of Oriental Art with accommodation him in the Lopukhins' estate, chosen by Svyatoslav Roerich. However, by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 17, 2010 No. 1045, Decree No. 1121 of November 4, 1993 was declared invalid. The Museum of the East has a scientific department of the Roerichs' heritage, which is engaged in a comprehensive study and popularization of their life and work. In 2016, the museum created a separate branch - the Roerich Museum.

State Museum of the History of Literature, Art and Culture of Altai

Contains a permanent exhibition “Workers of world culture in Altai. G. D. Grebenshchikov. N. K. Roerich. The museum funds contain manuscripts by N. K. Roerich and members of his family: articles and poems, letters, fragments of diary entries, lectures (1890-1970s). Postcards in the name of Nicholas Roerich during the period of the Central Asian expedition (1925). Letters from N. K. Roerich to P. F. Belikov from Kullu (1937-1939). Copies of letters from Helena Roerich to US President T. Roosevelt (1934-1936), material sources, paintings, sketches, sketches by Nicholas Roerich.

Estimates of N. K. Roerich and his work

Assessment by contemporaries

The artist and art critic I. E. Grabar highly appreciated the talent of Roerich the artist, but gave him a rather sharp personal description:

Roerich was a mystery to all of us. I don’t even know now and never knew before where Roerich’s sincerity, his true credo, ends, and where the pose, mask, shameless pretense and the capture of the viewer, reader, consumer, calculated by the sage of life, begin. These two elements - truthfulness and deceit, sincerity and falsehood - are inextricably soldered in the life and art of Roerich ... Roerich is in general a special phenomenon, so unlike everything that we know in Russian art, that his figure stands out as a dazzling bright spot against the rest of my background memories of the life and deeds of artists of bygone years. Roerich, first of all, is undeniably brilliantly gifted ...

At the request of Roerich, in the spring of 1919, L. Andreev wrote an article entitled “The Power of Roerich”:

... One cannot but admire Roerich ... the richness of his colors is infinite ... Roerich's path is the path of glory ... Roerich's brilliant fantasy reaches those limits beyond which it becomes already clairvoyance.

The artist and critic S.K. Makovsky gave an expressive psychological portrait of Roerich the painter:

A dreamer of the past… [Roerich] is always cold, invariably terribly mute even when he wants to be affectionate and illuminate the stone desert of gray distances with a human feeling… Roerich’s world seems to me like a fabulous petrification, and its colors lie as hard as a mosaic, and its forms do not breathe, they do not falter, like everything living and transient, but remain unshakable, likening the outlines and edges of their rocks and cave flints.

On the other hand, Nikolai Gumilyov praised Roerich's work:

Roerich is the highest degree of modern Russian art... The manner of his writing - powerful, healthy, so simple in appearance and so refined in essence - changes depending on the events depicted, but always reveals the petals of the same soul, dreamy and passionate. With his work, Roerich opened the unopened areas of the spirit that our generation is destined to develop.

M. K. Tenisheva wrote about Roerich:

Of all the Russian artists I have met in my life... this is the only one with whom one could talk, understanding each other perfectly, cultured, very educated, a real European, not narrow, not one-sided, well-mannered and pleasant to talk to, an irreplaceable interlocutor, broadly understanding art and deeply interested in it ...

Prime Minister of India J. Nehru:

When I think of Nicholas Roerich, I am amazed at the scope and richness of his activity and creative genius. A great artist, a great scientist and writer, an archaeologist and explorer, he touched and illuminated so many aspects of human endeavor. The quantity itself is amazing - thousands of paintings, and each of them is a great work of art.

Also among Roerich's contemporaries, who highly appreciated his creative activity, were: G. D. Grebenshchikov, M. M. Fokin, A. I. Gidoni, Yu. K. Baltrushaitis, E. F. Gollerbakh, S. Radhakrishnan and others.

Modern assessments of life and work

Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dmitry Sergeevich Likhachev wrote about N. K. Roerich:

N. K. Roerich was an ascetic of culture on a global scale. He raised over the planet the Banner of Peace, the Banner of Culture, thereby indicating to mankind the ascending path of perfection.

Likhachev also considered Roerich, along with Lomonosov, Derzhavin, Pushkin, Tyutchev, Solovyov and others, one of the "most powerful and original thinkers in Russia" who contributed to the knowledge of the world through its artistic comprehension.

In October 2011, at the presentation of the Nicholas Roerich Prize, Leonid Mikhailovich Roshal said the following:

Roerich for me is a huge admiration for a humanist who was always looking, who had plans, carried out plans. In everything, he had an idea to unite people and oppose everything that is unkind in the world.

The cultural activities and philosophical heritage of Nicholas Roerich and his family were highly appreciated by such figures of science, culture and higher state bodies as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Andrei Gromyko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences Alexander Kadakin, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Presidium of the Higher Attestation Commission, Honored Scientist Russian Federation Evgeny Chelyshev, President of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Honored Worker of Science and Technology of Russia O. L. Kuznetsov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Evgeny Primakov, Chairman of the Federation Council Mikhail Nikolaev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the All-Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Minister of Agriculture of Latvia Alexander Nikonov, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics. K. E. Tsiolkovsky A. S. Koroteev, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the Russian Academy of Ecology, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation A. L. Yanshin, Academician and Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic V. M. Ploskikh.

In October 1975, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who personally knew Nicholas Roerich, expressed the following opinion about the Russian artist:

His paintings amaze with their richness and subtle sense of color and, above all, wonderfully convey the mysterious grandeur of the nature of the Himalayas. Yes, and he himself, with his appearance and nature, seemed to some extent imbued with the soul of the great mountains. He was not verbose, but restrained power emanated from him, which seemed to fill the entire surrounding space with itself. We deeply respect Nicholas Roerich for his wisdom and creative genius. We also appreciate him as a link between the Soviet Union and India... I think that the paintings of Nicholas Roerich, his stories about India will give the Soviet people a part of the soul of their Indian friends. I also know that N. K. Roerich and his family contributed in many ways to creating a more complete picture of the Soviet country in India.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of N. K. Roerich in the following way:

First, we must immediately recall the well-known both in Russia and in India artist Nicholas Roerich. This is an amazing life, this amazing creativity, this is an amazing example of spiritual closeness, perhaps not lying on the surface, but nevertheless the spiritual closeness of our peoples ...
Russia and India noted the importance of preserving and supporting the unique artistic and cultural heritage of the Roerich family, which is of lasting importance for Russian-Indian friendship.

From the joint statement of the parties on the results of Vladimir Putin's official visit to India on December 3-5, 2002

Valery Kuvakin, President of the Russian Humanist Society, Doctor of Philosophy expressed the following opinion about the research of Nicholas Roerich:

Traditional science does not confirm Roerich's "discoveries" in the field of medicine, psychology and anthropology. All the studies that he conducted were not evaluated by an independent expert appraisal. Roerich's teaching on Living Ethics is a contradictory mixture of scientific, anti-scientific, paranormal and quasi-religious statements.

Encyclopedia "Krugosvet" calls N. K. Roerich "one of the brightest figures of Russian symbolism and modernity."

controversy

freemasonry

Modern researchers of Freemasonry claim that N. K. Roerich was a Freemason. According to the biography of the artist written by the historian M. L. Dubaev (ZhZL series), Nikolai Konstantinovich joined the Masonic (Rosicrucian) lodge in the USA in the 1930s, immediately receiving the highest degree of initiation.

The founder of the Antique Mystical Order of the Rose and Cross (AMORC), Harvey Spencer Lewis, listed Nicholas Roerich among the famous people who were Rosicrucians. The artist was the subject of articles in the magazine Rosicrucian Digest. Ibid in 1933 for authorship Frater Nicholas de Roerich, F.R.C. article was published The New Banner of Peace. A special message to all rosicrucians" dedicated to the Roerich Pact. According to V. S. Brachev, Doctor of Historical Sciences, the ideas of the Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace are Masonic in nature.

As V. A. Rosov notes, during the Manchurian expedition, Nicholas Roerich failed largely due to the fact that the artist in the Harbin press “a flurry of accusations rained down that he was a representative of“ secret forces ”, a legate of the Great White Brotherhood - AMORC (Ancient Mystical Order of the Rose and Cross)”.

Sources close to the Roerich movement believe that the information about Roerich's belonging to the Freemasons originates from the book by V.F. Ivanov "The Orthodox World and Freemasonry" and critical publications of the emigrant press during the artist's stay in Harbin. Helena Roerich denied that their family belonged to Freemasonry.

Political views and projects

For a long time, N. K. Roerich was known only as an artist and cultural figure (Roerich's paintings, Roerich's pact). Only after the 1990s did documents revealing his ambitious political views and plans become public. It was under these projects that the skyscraper Master Building was built for N. K. Roerich in New York. When in 1935 it became clear that all plans had finally failed, President F. D. Roosevelt personally told Roerich's sponsor L. Horsch, "We don't need Roerich anymore."

Roerich's political projects are analyzed in detail by Doctor of Historical Sciences. V. A. Rosov. See his fundamental work “Nicholas Roerich, Bulletin of Zvenigorod. Expeditions of N. K. Roerich on the Outskirts of the Gobi Desert”, Volume 1: “The Great Plan” (2002) and Volume 2: “New Country” (2004), dedicated respectively to the Central Asian and Manchurian expeditions.

There is evidence that during the Manchurian expedition, Nicholas Roerich actively interfered in Asian politics. These facts are denied by researchers who consider Roerich's activity to be exclusively cultural, just as they were previously denied by Roerich himself:

“We have never been involved in politics, and I know that this circumstance sometimes caused bewilderment and even censure. We didn’t belong to any political party and even had some long and unpleasant conversations about this.”

Memory of N. K. Roerich

• In 1974, the 100th anniversary of Nicholas Roerich was included by UNESCO in the "Calendar of memorable dates of great personalities and events (1973-1974)".
• The 100th anniversary of Nicholas Roerich was celebrated in the USSR. As reported in the UNESCO Courier, greetings were received from the World Peace Council and a personal message from Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Academy of Arts of the USSR hosted an exhibition of paintings by N. K. Roerich, as well as a conference dedicated to his work, at which the artist's son, S. N. Roerich, spoke. On November 21, a solemn anniversary evening was held at the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR Union with the participation of members of the public.
• In Moscow, on the territory of the Lopukhins' estate in front of the Museum named after Nicholas Roerich, a monument to Nicholas and Helena Roerich was erected.
• In honor of N. K. Roerich, one of the streets in the center of Riga was named, as well as a street in Moscow.
• In the village of Izvara, Leningrad region, where Nicholas Roerich lived for a long time, since 1984, the Museum-estate of Nicholas Roerich has been operating.
• In St. Petersburg, there is the St. Petersburg Art College. N. K. Roerich and the Museum of the Roerich family.
• In 1999, the Bank of Russia issued two commemorative coins dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of Nicholas Roerich.
• In honor of N. K. Roerich, the ship "Artist Nicholas Roerich" was named.
• In 2003, the international Nicholas Roerich Prize was established in honor of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, and since then it has been awarded annually.
• In 2007, the new Aeroflot airliner Airbus A321 (VP-BRW) was named after Nicholas Roerich.
• Acquaintance with the life and work of Nicholas Roerich is included in the compulsory curriculum for high school students in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. This decision was made by the Education Council of this region in northern India, where Nicholas Roerich and his family lived for many years. According to Himachal Pradesh Board of Education Chairman Chaman Lal Gupta, the rising generation should know about the life and legacy of such an extraordinary personality. “We are proud that it was Himachal Pradesh that became for Roerich the place that in Indian tradition is considered to be a destiny predestined for a person,” said Chaman Lal Gupta.
• On March 25-26, 2008, as part of the Year of Russia in India, New Delhi hosted the Russian-Indian festival "The Roerichs and the Cultural and Spiritual Unity of Russia and India", timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Roerichs' foundation in Naggar (Kulu Valley) of the Institute of Himalayan Studies. studies of "Urusvati" and the 100th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Indian film actress Devika Rani Roerich, the wife of the youngest son of Nicholas Roerich - S. N. Roerich. In December 2008, at the closing ceremony of the Year of Russia in India, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev noted:

  The Year of Russia in India fully justified our expectations. More than 150 events took place within its framework. But, of course, not only their number is impressive, but also the originality of these events. This is both the Festival of Russian Culture and joint work to preserve the heritage of the Roerich family.

• In September 2009, a monument to Nicholas Roerich was opened on the territory of the special economic zone "Turquoise Katun" in the Altai Territory.
• As part of the celebration of the 135th anniversary of the birth of N. Roerich, on November 11, 2009, in one of the largest universities in the Indian capital Jamia Millia Islamia (New Delhi), a solemn opening of the photo exhibition "The Banner of Peace - the Roerich Pact" was held, organized by the Representative Office of Rossotrudnichestvo in India in association with the Academy of Third World Studies (ATWS-JMI).
• On November 12 and 13, 2009, an international seminar "Nicholas Roerich: heritage and search" was held in the hall named after Rabindranath Tagore of the Jamia Millia Islamia University.
• To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Roerich Pact in 2010, the International Exhibition Project "Roerich's Age" (St. Petersburg) was timed, in which more than 70 museums, libraries, archives and private collections from 33 cities of Russia and the world took part.
• On November 9, 2010, a monument to Nicholas Roerich was unveiled in St. Petersburg. A monument made of Karelian granite 3.5 meters high was erected in the Vasileostrovets garden at the intersection of Bolshoy Prospekt with the 25th line of Vasilyevsky Island. Sculptor V. V. Zaiko and architect Yu. F. Kozhin.
• In honor of N. K. Roerich, a new species of riders from Nepal is named, Lathrolestes roerichi Reshchikov, 2011
• In 2013, the International Astronomical Union named a crater on Mercury after N. K. Roerich.

Asteroid "Roerich"

On October 15, 1969, astronomers of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory Nikolai Stepanovich and Lyudmila Ivanovna Chernykh discovered a minor planet (asteroid) in the solar system and named after the Roerich family. Asteroid 4426 has been registered.

In October 1999, in his speech at the Roerich Museum about this event, astronomer N. S. Chernykh, who discovered more than 500 asteroids, said: “The name was approved by a special commission of the International Astronomical Union, consisting of 11 representatives from different countries of the world. Only with unanimous opinion the name is accepted. The appearance of the small planet “Roerich” is an international recognition of the creativity and outstanding achievements of the Roerichs.”

Geographical objects named after N. K. Roerich

Peak and pass named after N. K. Roerich in Altai

On August 15, 1963, on the Independence Day of India, Tomsk climbers V. Syrkin, G. Shvartsman, A. Ivanov, V. Petrenko, L. Spiridonov, G. Skryabin, V. Slyusarchuk, Yu. Salivon, B. Gusev, S. Lobanov climbed to the previously unnamed peak and named it after N. K. Roerich.

Near the Roerich Peak there is a pass, also named after him.

Glacier and passes named after N. K. Roerich in the Tien Shan

On the Tien Shan there are two passes and a glacier named after N. K. Roerich.

The Roerich Pass is located on the Saryzhaz Ridge. The height of the pass is 4320 meters. It connects the valleys of the rivers Chontash, Tyuz and Achiktashsu. The first ascent of the pass was made by a group of climbers led by A. Posnichenko.

The second pass, named after N. K. Roerich, is located in the northwestern part of the Ak-Shyirak ridge and connects the middle part of the Petrov glacier and the Sarytor river valley. The height of the pass is 4500 meters.

The glacier of Nicholas Roerich is located at an altitude of 3700 meters and originates on the Alamedin wall.

Postage stamps depicting N. K. Roerich and his work

• 1974, USSR - A stamped envelope was issued by the Ministry of Communications of the USSR. It depicts a portrait of N. K. Roerich against the background of his painting "Overseas guests". In the same year, a stamp was issued with the image of this picture.
• 1974, India - a commemorative stamp was issued, which depicts the obverse of a commemorative medal created in 1929 in Paris on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the artistic, scientific and social activities of Nicholas Roerich.
• 1977, USSR - The Ministry of Communications of the USSR issued two stamps with the image of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino, above the entrance of which a mosaic "The Savior Not Made by Hands" was made according to the sketches of N. K. Roerich.
• 1978, Bulgaria - a stamp was issued with a fragment of the portrait of N. K. Roerich, made by S. N. Roerich. In addition to the stamp, a first-day envelope was issued, and at the main post office in Sofia on April 5, 1978, the cancellation was carried out with a first-day stamp.
• 1986, Mexico - Issued a stamp with a coupon dedicated to the International Year of Peace (Año Internacional de la Paz). On the stamp there is the emblem of the United Nations and the symbol of the Banner of Peace by Nicholas Roerich, the signatures are “ONU” (UN) and “Pax Cultura” (Pact of Culture).
• 1990, USSR - two stamps dedicated to the Soviet Cultural Fund were issued. On one of them, the painting by N. K. Roerich "Unkrada" (1909) is reproduced, on the second - the painting "Pskov-Pechora Monastery".
• 1999, Russia - the Marka Publishing Center of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia issued a stamped envelope “Russian artist N. K. Roerich. 1874-1947" for his 125th birthday. The stamp depicts a fragment of the portrait of Nicholas Roerich, painted by S. N. Roerich in 1934, against the background of a fragment of Nicholas Roerich's painting "The Book of Life".
• 2001, Russia - the Marka Publishing Center of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications of Russia issued a stamped envelope dedicated to the International Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments (the Roerich Pact). In the illustration - a painting by N. K. Roerich “The Pact of Culture. Banner of Peace "(1931).
• 2003, Moldova - a stamp was issued with the image of the painting “Pact of Culture. Banner of Peace" (1931), as well as on the Russian stamp of 2001.
• 2008, Russia - the publishing center "Marka" issued an envelope dedicated to the Central Asian expedition of Nicholas Roerich (1923-1928).

• In 1912, a monument was erected on the grave of the composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov in the form of an ancient Novgorod cross, made according to the sketch of N. K. Roerich
• The famous historian and orientalist L. N. Gumilyov used a fragment of the painting by N. K. Roerich “Flowers of Timur. Lights of Victory" (1931) for the cover design of his book "Hunnu" (1960).