Nicholas Roerich

Nicholas Roerich (known also as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh or in Russian, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих) was a Russian painter, theatrical designer, and writer best known for his mystical paintings of the Himalayas.

Early years

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich was born on October 9, 1874 into the family of a famous lawyer. Since early childhood he took interest in history, archeology and painting.

After graduating from the gymnasium Nicholas immediately entered two universities: at the insistence of his father he entered into St. Petersburg University to study law where he also attended lectures in the history and linguistics departments, and following his own heart, he also entered into the Imperial Academy of Art. In 1895 Roerich transferred into the class of an acclaimed Russian painter and master of colorful landscapes, Arkhip Ivanovich Kyindgi. Kyindgi had a major impact on Roerich as he was the kind of teacher who gently guided his students’ own interests instead of forcing them to adhere to certain rules. Later Roerich would call his tutor not only a teacher of painting, but a great teacher of life as well.

Upon completion of the Artist’s Academy, Roerich was awarded the official title of artist for his thesis painting “Messenger” from the series “The Beginning of Russia: The Slavs.” The painting held up to the most exacting criticism and was acquired by Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov for his private collection.

Also at the age of 9 years old Nicolas began an archeologist: well-known Russian archeologist Lev Ivanovsky took Nicolas with him for exscavations in the surroundings of Isvara – Roerichs’ country estate near St.Petersburg. Further Nicolas will become professional archeologist and make excavations in the North of Russia, in Novgorod, in Tibet and in Indian Himalayas. As he wrote in one of his essays, nothing but own-hands excavations and touching an ancient object can advance you to the genuine impression of the antiquity.

Nicholas Roerich found time not only for creating art – he was also a busy public figure. In 1898, at the age of 24, Nicholas Roerich became an assistant to the Director of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts and an editor assistant for the Society`s art magazine. Starting 1902 he took part in exhibitions, organized by the magazine “Mir iskusstva”. In 1906 he became director of the School within the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts – one of the leading Russian art schools of the time. The new director thought that training artistic taste and supporting artistic individuality of the students should be the school`s main goal. He deeply believed that art should be incorporated into our daily life as much as possible.

Since 1905 the painter`s exhibitions were held in Europe at a regular basis. Prague, Paris, Berlin, Venice, Rome, Brussels and Vienna got acquainted with Roerich`s works. They were purchased by European museums. In 1909 Nicholas Roerich became a member of the Imperial Academy of Art and a member of the Academy of Reims in France.

Travels

Roerich`s interest in archeology and history to a large extent defined his travels to Russia. In 1903-04 Nicolas Roerich with his wife Helena Roerich made a trip to the old towns of Vladimir, Suzdal, Moscow, Novgorod, Pskov, Tver, Smolensk, Yaroslavl, Kazan regions, and also Riga, Kiev, Vilna and others. More than a hundred sketches of the beautiful architectural relics came as a result of the trip.

Roerich`s world-view was shaped not only by Russian art and history. The East was significantly affecting his literary and art works since the mid 1900s. He was drawn in particular to India, to its ancient culture and rich spiritual traditions. His reflections not only as historian and archeologist, but also as philosopher brought him to the mysterious “cradle of civilizations”.

His thoughts on unity, universal spiritual values and special role of Russia as a connecting link between East and West were in keeping with the ideas of Russian philosophers as N.Berdyaev, N.Lossky, V.Solovyev and others. Justly believing that basic ethical laws were formulated already in antiquity, at the dawn of civilization, Roerich looked for answers to the mysteries of life on primary sources – myths, legends, ancient philosophical systems, he studied as well works of Eastern thinkers.

In 1923 Roerich`s cherished dream came true – on the 2nd of December together with his family he arrived in India. Within a month the Roerichs visited ancient monuments of Elefanta, Jaipur, Agra, Sarnath, Benares and Kalcutta. At the end of December they stayed in the small kingdom of Sikkim in Eastern Himalayas. Scientific research, conducted in Sikkim, visits to ancient monasteries, numerous meetings with scientists and spiritual men persuaded him more and more to undertake a serious expedition in Central Asia. The journey lasted from March of 1925 till May of 1928: Kashmir – Ladakh (Leh) – Chinese Turkestan (Hotan) – and after 2 months in Moscow – Altai – Mongolia – Tibet – Sikkim (Darjeeling). No researcher had walked this route before. For the first time, dozens of mountain peaks and passes were marked on maps, archeological monuments were discovered, rare manuscripts were found. Vast scientific data was corrected, books (“Heart of Asia”, “Altai – Himalaya”) were written, hundreds of paintings created.

Upon finishing the expedition in July of 1928 Roerich founded the Himalayan research institute “Urusvati” that translated from Sanskrit as “The Light of the Morning Star”. Institute cooperated with other research institutes and botanical gardens of East and West, with many scientists all over the world. Nicholas Roerich and his family settled down in the Western Himalayas, in Kulu valley.

In 1934-35 together with his elder son, Yuri (George) Roerich, Nicholas undertook an expedition to Manchuria and Inner Mongolia. This expedition was organized by Institute “Urusvati” on the initiative of the Agriculture Department of the US that offered Nicholas Roerich to study and collect seeds of drought-resistant plants.

Agni Yoga

The Roerichs lived in India for a span of many years where they collaborated with those who are called Mahatmas or Spiritual Teachers. The depth of their thoughts and teachings attest to their great knowledge of the spirit. In cooperation with them, the Roerichs gave to the world the unique philosophical system called Living Ethics (or Agni Yoga).

Living Ethics is a synthesis of the ancient teachings of the East which opens the way for incorporation the scientific achievements of the West. This Teaching is based upon essentially the same knowledge as the Theosophical doctrine since the both systems have the same common source.

Summing up previously accumulated human knowledge and organically putting together principal methods of learning, Living Ethics offers new approach to solving a whole range of problems and new outlook on such fundamental notions as energy and matter, mind and conscience. It bring a fundamentally new type of mindset that Nicholas Roerich interpreted as “energetic”. According to this mindset, the Universe is a grandiose spirited system of energy that is evolving according to the Great Laws of the Cosmos. It explains a man as one of many structures, closely linked and interacting with the others – with similar objects on the surface of our planet, with celestial bodies, with the worlds of other states of matter. Viewing a man as “part of the cosmic energy, part of the elements, part of Cosmic Reason, part of the consciousness of the higher matter”, Living Ethics assigned to him the role of evolution`s chief tool. Without a man the main task of the evolution process – spiritualization of the matter, its transformation into a higher state of different quality – would have been impossible.

Apart from our solid world Living Ethics also observed the worlds of different states of matter – Subtle world (the other name is Astral world) and Fiery world (Arupa world in Theosophy) that are closely linked to each other and to the solid world of our physical stratum. Combining the matter of these kinds inside himself the man is constantly interacting with these worlds. The nature of this interaction is defined by the level and the expansion of one`s mind and by the participation of one’s heart. Therefore the Teaching lays great emphasis on ethical notions and their practical realization – high moral standards, love, compassion, feeling of responsibility for one`s close ones and for the evolution of the planet as the whole. According to the doctrine, “The feeling of responsibility should be developed infinitely. The spirit of a man, like the Creator, holds responsibility for all his deeds. We shall not be in fear of realizing the phenomenon of responsibility. We are responsible not only to ourselves, but also to the Cosmos”.

The books of this philosophical teaching were first published in Russian in 1924-1937 and were translated and printed in several languages during the lifetime of Helena Roerich. These books include the next volumes:

- Leaves of Morya’s Garden. The Call. 1924. Paris

- Leaves of Morya’s Garden. Illumination. 1925. Paris

- Community. 1927. Urga

- Community. 1926. Riga

- Agni Yoga. 1929. Paris

- Infinity. Part I. 1930. Paris

- Infinity. Part II. 1930. Paris

- Hierarchy. 1931. Paris

- Heart. 1932. Paris

- Fiery World. Part I. 1933. Paris

- Fiery World. Part II. 1934. Paris

- Fiery World. Part III. 1935. Paris

- Aum. 1936. Riga

- Brotherhood. 1937. Riga

- Supermundane. (It was not published during the life of Helena Roerich.)

Later years

Roerich died on December 13, 1947.

Writings

Roerich's books are listed in chronological sequence:

• The Nicolas Roerich Exhibition. New York: Redfield-Kendrick-Odell, 1920.
• Adamant. New York: Corona Mundi, 1923.
• Leaves of Morya's Garden. New York, 1923. Translated by Louis L. Horch.
• Himalaya: a Monograph. New York: Brentano's 1926. Articles by Frances R. Grant, Mary Siegrist, George Grebenstchikoff, Ivan Narodny, and "Banners of the East", by Nicholas Roerich, with 24 color-plates and 78 halftones.
• Altai--Himalaya; a Travel Diary. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1929.
• Flame in Chalice. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1930. Songs and sagas, Book 1; translated by Mary Siegrist.
• Heart of Asia: Memoirs from the Himalayas. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1930.
• Shambhala. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1930.
• Realm of Light. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1931.
• Fiery Stronghold. Boston, MA: The Stratford Company, 1933.
• The Invincible. New York: Nicholas Roerich Museum, 1974. Translation of Nerushimoe, 1936.
• Himalayas: Abode of Light. Bombay: Nalanda Publications, 1947.

Museums and exhibitions

With a lifetime production of something like 81,000 paintings, it is not surprising to find that his works have been dispersed throughout the world in many museums. Several institutions are devoted entirely to Nicholas Roerich, his family, and his art:

• Nicholas Roerich Museum is a large museum in New York City. Website: http://www.roerich.org/. See also YouTube video.
• Nicholas Roerich Virtual Museum is a website of the New York museum. Website: Nicholas Roerich Virtual Museum.
• Nicholas Roerich Museum and Buddhist Art Institute in Mongolia is a restored house in which Roerichs live in 1926-27. Website: http://www.roerichmongolia.org/ . See also YouTube video.
• International Centre of the Roerichs is a large museum in Moscow. Website: http://en.icr.su/museum/. See also this YouTube video.
• Nicholas Roerich Estate Museum in St. Petersburg has a very large collection. Website: http://www.saint-petersburg.com/museums/nicholas-roerich-estate-museum/. Since 2003, the museum annually awards the Nicholas Roerich International Prize.
• Roerich Gallery in Naggar, India. For information, see : Bharata Online and Lonely Planet website.
• N.K. Roerich's Museum and the Siberian Roerich Society in Novosibirsk, Siberia.
• Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in Bangalore, India. A new state-of-the art museum is being developed by the State of Karnataka in southwest India, displaying over 240 of the artist’s paintings, will be developed at the 456-acre Tataguni Estate of Svetoslav Roerich, the son of Nicholas Roerich. Website: http://www.karnatakachitrakalaparishath.com/parishath/roerich.html. More information: article from February 24, 2014, ‘’NavHind Times’’ article, ‘’New Indian Express’’ article, ‘’Times of India’’ article.
• Nikolay Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk, See also blog post.
• Roerich Hall Estate in the Kullu Valley of the Indian Himalayas; status is uncertain. See: International Centre of the Roerichs.

Other museums with Roerich paintings include:

• Department of the State Museum of Oriental Arts in Moscow.
• National Gallery for Foreign Art in Sofia, Bulgaria has an important collection.
• Art Museum in Nizhny Novgorod (formerly known as Gorky), Russia
• Sree Chitra Art Gallery, Thiruvananthapuram in south India. See Wikipedia article.
• Latvian National Museum of Art has several of Roerich’s larger works.
• National Museum of Serbia.
• Zanabazar National Museum in Mongolia has one painting.
• Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth University has one painting.
• Oglethorpe University Museum of Art in Atlanta Georgia. Website: http://museum.oglethorpe.edu/.

Awards and Honors

• Peace Monuments have been dedicated to Nicholas Roerich. See: Peace Monuments web page, and Summit Lighthouse web page.

• The minor planet 4426 Roerich in our Solar System was named in honor of Roerich.

• Roerich was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1929, 1933 and 1935.

• In 2003, the St Petersburg the annual Nicholas Roerich International Prize was instituted by the Nicholas Roerich Estate Museum.

Additional resources

• Archer, Kenneth.Roerich East & West: Paintings from the Nicholas Roerich Museum. Bournemouth, England: Parkstone Press, 1999.
• Brinton, Christian. The Nicolas Roerich Exhibition: with Introduction and Catalogue of the Paintings. New York: Redfield-Kendrick-Odell, 1920.
• Decter, Jacqueline. Nicholas Roerich: the Life and Art of a Russian Master. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1989.
• Drayer, Ruth. Nicholas & Helena Roerich: the Spiritual Journey of Two Great Artists and Peacemakers. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 2005.
• Klimentieva, Victoria. Nicholas Roerich: In Search of Shambhala. Thesis at University of Texas at Austin. August 2009. Available at UT Library web page.
• Nicholas Roerich Museum. Roerich Museum, a Decade of Activity, 1921-1931. New York: Roerich Museum Press, 1931.
• Paelian, Garabed. Nicholas Roerich. Agoura, CA: Aquarian Educational Group, 1974.
• Roerich, George. Tibetan Paintings. Paris: P. Geuthner, 1925.
• Roerich, George. Trails to Inmost Asia; Five Years of Exploration with the Roerich Central Asian Expedition. London: Oxford University Press, 1931.
• Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace Committee. The Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace. New York, 1947.
• Selivanova, Nina Nikolaevna. The World of Roerich. New York: Corona Mundi, Inc., International Art Center, 1922.
• Yeatts, Tabitha. "Nicholas Roerich" post in blog Tabitha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference. March 22, 2012. See blog post.
• Znamenski, Andrei A. Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 2011.