"Neither science, nor technology, nor philosophy will fully reflect the soul of the people. Let us read it only as reflected in the monuments of art."

There are artists whose personality scale cannot fit within the personal artistic creation. But at the same time, for them, art is a way of expressing the deepest feelings, the most important ideas... Nicholas Roerich's creativity is to the highest degree perfect, original and characteristic. It cannot be attributed unconditionally to any of the existing genres and trends in painting: Nicholas Roerich's paintings, in terms of execution and content, are not thought of either with a landscape, or with a historical plot, or with another genre, in other words, Roerich marked the beginning of a new direction in painting. Guga Chohan

Nicholas Roerich was one of the unique Russian artists of the 20th century - he created so much in his own life, as if the physical and spiritual powers of several people were laid in him.

A boy who grew up on Vasilievsky Island in a wealthy Petersburg family, Nicholas Roerich was prepared to walk in an orderly life path his father, a famous notary. But already in his youth Roerich manifested himself as a person incommensurable in larger and deeper possibilities and goals - his hobby was theatrical direction and numismatics, mineralogy and literature, art and botany, a hobby for hunting and music ... Of all the various interests, art and history gradually emerged. And after graduating from the gymnasium, the desire to be an artist was strongly formed.

In 1893 g. Nikolay combines his life goals with the instructions of his father, enrolling at the same time the law faculty of St. Petersburg University and the Academy of Arts. In his character as a very young man, the main qualities have already formed - solidity, purposefulness, in any business, rare endurance and hard work. They became the basis of what was done Roerich in life.

Having chosen the historical genre, despite the fact that his teacher was the great landscape painter A.I. Kuindzhi, Roerich in his first student works depicts the appearance of ancient Russian people - Svyatopolk the Accursed, Yaroslavna. His acquaintance with V.V. Stasov - an art critic who asserted significance in his works in Ancient Rus, leads Roerich to a great idea, which subsequently determined his work for long years. Over the famous series paintings"The beginning of Russia. Slavs" he worked since 1897, and the first painting - - was bought by P.M. Tretyakov directly from the academic exhibition.

He planned to put the entire series in his gallery on the walls. Ancient history arose under the artist's brush without excessive exoticism. Her drama is reflected in works such as "", depicting a pagan sanctuary

or "", where crows, prophetic birds, eyewitnesses of the past, become symbolic heralds of a formidable future.

The work of this period was also influenced by the influence of Scandinavian mythology, which became for Roerich an important source of artistic images also because he himself belonged to an ancient Scandinavian family that began to serve Russia from the era of Peter I. "His thoughts and taste are Varangian," wrote about Roerich A. Benois. The Varangians, the northern neighbors of the Russians, became the heroes of many works - they were portrayed by the artist walking on the sea on his fabulous ships in the picture.

The landscape in Roerich's paintings has become one of the main means of expression, his distant horizons seem to call to unknown worlds. Especially poetically embodied by him "Stone North"- the artist subtly felt the discreet beauty of this region, its spiritual essence. In the painting, painted in Finland, the image of the Christian saint is like a tuning fork of a restrained and at the same time refined northern landscape. Decorative, sharp in rhythm, solid in forms, rich in color and sonorous feature of Roerich's painting, speaks of Roerich's inherent in the masters of the Art Nouveau era. Arts highly appreciated by V.A. Serov, V.I. Surikov, gained new heights with their historical genre and enriched with concentrated poetic fiction.

To the Slavic series Roerich adjoined another picturesque "suite" - sketches of ancient Russian architecture, depicting the "stone chronicle" of Russia. Studying architectural monuments and artistic antiquities, Roerich in 1903 - 1904. traveled over forty Russian cities. In the very forms of temples, towers, fortress walls, the harsh and mighty spirit of his ancestors was embodied for him - one of the best studies in the series was the image of the Rostov Kremlin.

Roerich became one of the first researchers Old Russian icons which prompted him to religious painting... Ancient Russian culture resembled in its images the theatrical works of the artist. In 1907, Roerich designed the production of an ancient mystery "Three wise men" by creating for her an exquisite color sketch of the scenery " Cave tree". Later he worked on staging performances "Russian seasons" in Paris - designed "Pskovite" N. Rimsky - Korsakov, ballet "Sacred spring", created jointly with I. Stravinsky, "Polovtsian dances" from the opera by A. Borodin "Prince Igor"... Scenery sketches, and others were embodied in full staging "Prince Igor" in London in 1914, Roerich's decorations captivated the sophisticated European public with their historicism and brilliance.

Tempera, gouache, ink, pencil on paper mounted on cardboard.

1908. Paper on cardboard, pastel, tempera, charcoal, pencil.

1908. Paper on cardboard, pastel, charcoal, gouache. 52x70.5

The artist's life, saturated with work as much as possible, connected with all the new and acute processes taking place in Russian spiritual life and culture at the turn of the century, included the story of a meeting and a happy union with Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova - "friend" and "inspirer", faithful assistant and companion to the end life.

In a difficult time of war and revolution, the artist's family spent in Karelia in a small town and in 1918 remained tightly cut off from Russia by the closed Russian-Finnish border. Since that time, the life of the artist and his family begins outside their homeland.

Having lived in India for over 20 years, the artist created a huge series of landscapes of the Himalayas, captured at different times of the year and day. Roerich's manner was influenced by Tibetan painting, but it also retained its originality. The main thing in his painting is the symbolism of images. People in his works live surrounded by mountains and seem to be filled with their hardness and purity, in the words of Roerich, "learning from the stones perseverance." The images of the highest Himalayan peaks - Chomolungma (Everest) and Kanchenjunga - reminded the artist of the legendary land of universal happiness hidden behind the mountains, which the Tibetans called Shambhala. Many paintings Roerich dedicated to Shambhala - the age-old dream of mankind.

X artist, set designer, philosopher, writer, traveler, archaeologist, public figure - the list of Nicholas Roerich's roles is endless. He drew up the first international agreement on the protection of cultural values ​​and created the philosophical doctrine "Living Ethics", revived old Russian crafts and designed theatrical performances for Sergei Diaghilev's Russian seasons. Nicholas Roerich's paintings are kept in the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Museum of Oriental Art and private collections around the world.

Nicholas Roerich - "A trip to the old days"

Nicholas Roerich was born in 1874 in St. Petersburg. His father was a famous notary and public figure, his mother came from a merchant family. The boy received an excellent education: at the age of eight he entered one of the best private schools in St. Petersburg - the Karl von May gymnasium.

The family spent their summer and winter vacations in the Izvara country estate in the St. Petersburg region. Here young Roerich collected herbarium and minerals, studied local animals and birds. As a child, he began to engage in archeology: he conducted excavations, made relief maps, described in detail the finds. In Izvara, Nicholas Roerich met the famous archaeologist Lev Ivanovsky and helped him in archaeological research of local burial mounds.

The boy was interested in the history and epic of the Izvara land, with enthusiasm he wrote down epics, legends and folk tales that he heard from local residents. Later, the plots of these works formed the basis of his paintings. For the first time, the boy's artistic abilities were noticed by a family friend - sculptor Mikhail Mikeshin. He became the first teacher of the future artist.

The father did not support his son's hobbies and wanted him to continue the family business. Nicholas Roerich could not disobey his parents, so after a private gymnasium he entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. At the same time, the young man passed exams at the Imperial Academy of Arts. His first major success was his diploma painting "The Messenger": for it Roerich received the title of artist. In 1897 he graduated from the Academy of Arts, and a year later - from the university.

The entire biography of Nicholas Roerich is associated with Russian history and culture. The interest of the young researcher only increased every year. As a student, he became a member of the Russian Archaeological Society and conducted excavations in many Russian provinces, studied folklore. In 1903, the artist went to big Adventure across Russia. He visited more than 40 cities famous for their ancient monuments.

Nicholas Roerich. An earthly spell. 1907. State Russian Museum

Nicholas Roerich. Build rooks. 1903. State Museum of the East

Nicholas Roerich. Watch. 1905. State Russian Museum

During the journey, a whole series of paintings was born - "The Beginning of Russia, Slavs." On them, the artist reflected his mystical idea of ​​the ancestors. In his "trip through the old days" Roerich studied the roots of Russian culture, photographed antiquities, wrote articles about the value of ancient Russian art.

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

Nicholas Roerich

Nicholas Roerich finished his journey through the ancient Russian cities in Talashkino - in the estate of the patron Maria Tenisheva. Here, together with the artists Mikhail Vrubel, Alexander Benois and Konstantin Korovin, Roerich restored the techniques of ancient Russian crafts and the traditions of folk crafts. In art workshops, he created sketches for mosaics and painting in ancient techniques. One of the most famous works is the decor in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino.

Artist, archaeologist, editor and scientist

Nicholas Roerich's talent manifested itself in different areas. He worked as an editor in the magazine "Old Years", in large editions "History of Russian Art" under general edition Igor Grabar and "Russian Icon". As an archaeologist, he participated in the excavation of burial mounds on the territory of the Novgorod and Tver provinces. As an artist, he created mosaics and murals for churches, train stations and houses. As a decorator he designed opera, ballet and drama performances, as a master of book and magazine graphics - various publications.

Along with the Old Russian theme, oriental motifs began to appear in the works of Nicholas Roerich. He studied the philosophy of the East, collected objects of Japanese art, wrote several essays on Japan and India, created paintings on Indian motives - "Devassari Abuntu", "Devassari Abuntu with birds", "The border of the kingdom", "Wisdom of Manu".

Nicholas Roerich. Devassari Abuntu. 1905

Nicholas Roerich. Devassari Abuntu with birds. 1905

Nicholas Roerich. Kingdom border. 1916

In his art, the artist combined realism and symbolism, giving great attention color. He almost abandoned oil and switched to tempera technique: he experimented a lot with the composition of paints, used the method of superimposing one tone on another. The originality of his works was noted by many critics: from 1907 to 1918, nine monographs and several dozen art magazines devoted to Roerich's work were published in Russia and Europe.

In 1916, due to a serious illness, Nicholas Roerich, at the insistence of doctors, moved to Finland with his family. After the 1917 revolution, Finland closed the border with Russia, and the Roerichs were cut off from the young USSR. Several of his exhibitions were successfully held abroad.

In 1919 the Roerich family moved to London. Here they became members of the occult Theosophical Society. Nicholas Roerich and his wife Helen founded a new philosophical doctrine "Living Ethics" - about inner transformation, disclosure of abilities and mastery of cosmic energy.

A year later, at the invitation of the director of the Chicago Institute of Arts, Nicholas Roerich and his family moved to the United States. In America, he organized a large-scale three-year exhibition tour in 30 US cities, created sketches of costumes and scenery for the Chicago Opera, lectured on Russian art, ethical and aesthetic education. During these years, the artist painted a series of paintings "New Mexico", "Suite of the Ocean", "Dreams of Wisdom" and a series of paintings "Sancta" ("Saints") about the life of Russian saints and ascetics.

"Master of the Mountains" Nicholas Roerich

In 1923, Roerich left America and went to Paris, and then to India, where he organized a large-scale Central Asian expedition. During this time, he conducted archaeological and ethnographic research in different parts Asia, studied rare manuscripts, collected linguistic materials and works of folklore, described local customs, wrote the books "Heart of Asia", "Altai - Himalayas". During these years, the artist created about 500 canvases. They reflected the picturesque panorama of the expedition route.

The extensive scientific materials collected by the Roerichs during the expedition required systematization and processing. After the trip, the couple founded the Institute for Himalayan Studies in New York, and then - the Institute "Urusvati" (translated from Sanskrit "Light of the Morning Star") in the Himalayas, in the Kullu Valley.

In 1928, Nicholas Roerich prepared a draft Treaty on the Protection of Cultural Property - the Roerich Pact. The Pact became the first international act dedicated to the protection of cultural property, and the only agreement in this area that was adopted by the international community before the Second World War. For him, Roerich was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but he never received it.

Since the end of 1935, Roerich lived permanently in India. This period is one of the most fruitful in his work. For 12 years, he painted over a thousand paintings. At this time, two new books by Nicholas Roerich and several volumes of literary essays were published. In India, the series “Shambhala”, “Chinggis Khan”, “Kuluta”, “Kulu”, “Holy Mountains”, “Tibet”, “Ashrams” were written, for which art critics called Roerich “the master of the mountains”.

Nicholas Roerich. Shambhala Daik (Message of Shambhala). 1931

Nicholas Roerich. Chintamani. 1935-1936

Nicholas Roerich. Song of Shambhala. Tangla. 1943

During the Second World War, he again turned to the theme of his homeland in his work and created a number of paintings using images of Russian history - "Igor's Campaign", "Alexander Nevsky", "Partisans", "Victory", "Heroes Awake".

Nicholas Roerich died in 1947 in India, in the Kulu valley of the Himalayan mountains.

Roerich Nicholas Konstantinovich (1874 - 1947)

Nicholas Roerich belongs to the galaxy of outstanding figures of Russian and world culture. An artist, scientist, traveler, public figure, writer, thinker - his multifaceted talent is comparable in size only to the titans of the Renaissance. The creative heritage of N.K. Roerich is enormous - more than seven thousand paintings scattered all over the world, countless literary works - books, essays, articles, diaries ...

Nicholas Roerich was born on October 9, 1874 in St. Petersburg in the family of the famous notary Konstantin Fyodorovich Roerich.

From childhood he was attracted by painting, archeology, history and, above all, the richest cultural heritage of the East. All this, merged together, later gave an amazing result and made the work of Nikolai Konstantinovich unique and vivid.

After graduating from the Karl May Gymnasium in 1893, Nicholas Roerich entered the Law Faculty of St. Petersburg University (graduated in 1898) and the Imperial Academy of Arts at the same time. Since 1895 he has been studying in the studio of the famous Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. At this time, he closely communicates with famous cultural figures of that time - V.V. Stasov, I.E. Repin, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D.V. Grigorovich, S.P. Diaghilev.

In 1897 N.K. Roerich graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and his diploma painting "The Messenger" was acquired by the famous collector of works of Russian art P.M. Tretyakov.

Already at the age of 24, Nikolai Konstantinovich became assistant director of the Museum of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts and at the same time assistant editor of the art magazine "World of Art".

In 1899, he met Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova, who became for him a faithful companion and spiritual companion for the rest of his life. The unity of views and deep mutual sympathy very quickly grew into strong and reverent feelings, and in October 1901 the young people got married. All their lives they will go hand in hand, complementing each other creatively and spiritually. Elena Ivanovna will share all the aspirations and undertakings of Nikolai Konstantinovich. In 1902 they will have a son, Yuri, a future orientalist, and in 1904, Svyatoslav, who will choose the same path as his father.

In his books N.K. Roerich called Elena Ivanovna "inspirer" and "friend". He showed her first every new painting and highly appreciated her artistic intuition and delicate taste. Many of the artist's canvases were created based on the images, thoughts and creative insights of Elena Ivanovna. But her ideas were not only in his paintings - it is difficult to name at least one area in the activities of N.K. Roerich, wherever they are. Elena Ivanovna will always stand behind every creative action of Nikolai Konstantinovich, behind his poems and fairy tales, behind his paintings and trips. According to S.N. Roerich: “The cooperation of N [Ikolaj] K [onstantinovich] and E [Lena] I [Vanovna] was the rarest combination of full-sounding sound on all planes. Complementing each other, they seemed to merge in the richest harmony of intellectual and spiritual expression. "

In 1903 - 1904. N.K. Roerich together with his wife travels through the ancient Russian cities of Russia. They visited more than 40 cities famous for their ancient monuments. The purpose of this "trip through antiquity" was to study the roots of Russian culture. The result of the trip was not only a large series of paintings by the artist, but also the first articles by N.K. Roerich, in which he was one of the first to raise the issue of a huge artistic value Old Russian icon painting and architecture.

The artist's works on religious themes, executed in the form of murals and sketches of mosaics for Russian churches, also belong to the same period.

The multifaceted talent of Nicholas Roerich was clearly manifested in his works for theatrical performances. During the famous "Russian Seasons" by S. Diaghilev, designed by N.K. Roerich hosted "Polovtsian Dances" from "Prince Igor" by Borodin, "The Pskovite Woman" by Rimsky-Korsakov, the ballet "The Rite of Spring" to music by Stravinsky. Thanks to Elena Ivanovna, Nikolai Konstantinovich got acquainted with the works of the outstanding thinkers of India - Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, with literary creativity R. Tagore, together they studied the Upanishads.

Acquaintance with the philosophical thought of the East was reflected in the work of N.K. Roerich. If in early paintings the artist's defining plots were the ancient pagan Rus, colorful images of the folk epic, the pristine greatness of the still untouched natural element ("The City is Being Built", "Idols", "Overseas Guests", etc.), then since the mid-1900s, the theme of India and the East is increasingly heard on his canvases and in literary works.

In 1916, due to severe lung disease N.K. At the insistence of doctors, Roerich moved with his family to Finland (Serdobol), on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The proximity to Petrograd made it possible from time to time to travel to the city on the Neva and deal with the affairs of the School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. However, after the revolutionary events of 1917, Finland closed the borders with Russia and N.K. Roerich and his family were cut off from their homeland.

In 1919, having received an invitation from Sweden, Nikolai Konstantinovich travels with exhibitions to the countries of Scandinavia, and in the fall of the same year he accepts the invitation of S.P. Diaghilev to arrange Russian operas in London to the music of M.P. Mussorgsky and A.P. Borodin and leaves with his family to England.

In 1920 N.K. Roerich received an offer from the director of the Art Institute of Chicago to organize a large exhibition tour across 30 US cities. Nikolai Konstantinovich accepts this invitation and leaves London with his family.

N.K. Roerich was one of the few thinkers of the 20th century who deeply understood the true meaning of Culture, its determining role in the development of mankind. “Culture rests on Beauty and Knowledge,” he wrote. And he repeated the well-known phrase of Dostoevsky with a slight amendment: "Awareness of Beauty will save the world." This formulation contains almost the whole meaning of cosmic evolution, which goes from chaos to order, from simple to complex, from system to Beauty. Beauty is perceived by a person only through Culture, of which creativity is an integral part. This was also mentioned in the books of Living Ethics, the Roerichs took a direct part in the creation of which. Elena Ivanovna wrote down, and Nikolai Konstantinovich immortalized the cosmic ideas of Living Ethics in beautiful artistic images.

Embodying these ideas, N.K. Roerich launched a wide range of cultural and educational activities in America. In November 1921, the Master Institute of United Arts was opened in New York, the main goal of which was to bring peoples closer together through culture and art. Almost simultaneously with him, an association of artists "Cor Ardens" ("Flaming Hearts") was established in Chicago, and in 1922 the International Cultural Center "Corona Mundi" ("Crown of the World") was founded. In November 1923, the New York Museum of Nicholas Roerich opened its doors, containing the richest collection of the artist's paintings. Institutions founded by Nicholas Roerich have become major centers of culture in America, uniting many prominent artists around them.

Then, in 1923, the master's cherished dream came true - on December 2 N.K. Roerich and his family arrive in India. Here begins preparations for the most important journey in the life of the great artist - an expedition to the hard-to-reach regions of Central Asia. These areas have long attracted the attention of N.K. Roerich not only as an artist, but also as a scientist, who was interested in a number of problems related to the world migrations of ancient peoples and the search for a common source of Slavic and Indian cultures. In addition to purely scientific goals, the expedition carried an important evolutionary task. The most difficult route of the expedition passed through Sikkim, Kashmir, Ladakh, China (Xinjiang), Russia (with a stop in Moscow), Siberia, Altai, Mongolia, Tibet, through the unexplored regions of the Trans-Himalayas. The significance and results of this unique expedition have not yet been fully appreciated by modern geographical science. Meanwhile, having fulfilled the dream of Przhevalsky and Kozlov, the expedition of Nicholas Roerich was a triumph of Russian studies of Central Asia. Due to the uniqueness of the route and the collected materials, it can rightfully claim a special place among the largest expeditions of the twentieth century. The journey lasted from March 1925 to May 1928. For the first time, dozens of new mountain peaks and passes were marked on maps, archaeological sites were discovered, and the rarest manuscripts were found. A huge scientific material was collected, books were written ("Heart of Asia", "Altai - Himalayas"), about five hundred paintings were created, in which the artist immortalized a special and amazing world, a world of high beauty.

At the end of the expedition in July 1928 N.K. Roerich founded the Institute of Himalayan Studies "Urusvati", which in translation from Sanskrit means "Light of the Morning Star". There, in the Kulu valley, in the Western Himalayas, Nikolai Roerich and his family find their home. Here in India and the last one will pass period of the artist's life.

In 1934-1935, Nicholas Roerich headed an expedition to the regions of Inner Mongolia, Manchuria and China, organized by the US Department of Agriculture with the aim of studying drought-resistant plants. While he was on the expedition, the president of the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York and N.K. Roerich, American businessman Louis Horsch, having forged documents and slandering his Teacher, illegally seizes a block of shares that belonged to the Museum, and declares himself to be its owner. He secretly takes out paintings, some of which he keeps for himself. Most of the paintings were auctioned off and still adorn the private collections of American collectors. After some time, the employees devoted to the Roerichs acquired new premises for the Museum and bought out a significant part of the paintings.

N.K. Roerich continues his international cultural activities... In his philosophical and artistic essays, he creates a completely new concept of Culture based on the ideas of Living Ethics. Culture, according to N.K. Roerich, is closely related to the problems of the cosmic evolution of mankind and is the "greatest foundation" of this process.

In the broad concept of Culture N.K. Roerich included a synthesis of the best achievements human spirit in the field of religious experience, science, art, education. It was Nicholas Roerich who first formulated fundamental difference Cultures from civilization. If Culture is related to the spiritual world of man in his creative self-expression, then civilization is only the external arrangement of human life in all its material, civil aspects. The identification of civilization and Culture, Nikolai Konstantinovich argued, leads to confusion of these concepts, to an underestimation of the spiritual factor in the development of mankind. “Wealth in itself does not 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 also must protect it.

In the 1930s, anticipating the impending threat of war, N.K. Roerich is developing a draft of a special Pact for the protection of cultural property during wars and civil strife. Roerich's Pact contained great educational value. “The Pact for the Protection of Cultural Treasures is needed not only as an official body, but as an educational law, which from the first school days will educate the young generation with noble ideas about preserving true values of all mankind ". This cultural initiative was supported in the most wide circles the world community. The artist's idea was welcomed by R. Rolland, B. Shaw, R. Tagore, A. Einstein. The signing of the Pact took place on April 15, 1935 at the White House in Washington. Initially, the document was ratified by 21 countries of the American continent. Subsequently, in 1954, the Roerich Pact formed the basis for the Hague "International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict", and the proposed N.K. Roerich, a special flag, the Banner of Peace, declaring all the treasures of culture and art to be inviolable, and to this day flutters over many cultural and educational institutions around the world.

From the very first days of World War II, Nicholas Roerich used every opportunity to help the Motherland, even when he was far from it. Together with the youngest son S.N. With Roerich, he arranges exhibitions and the sale of paintings, and transfers all the proceeds to the fund of the Red Army. Numerous articles are written in newspapers, there are radio speeches in support of the Soviet people. There is not a single note of despondency and confusion. Even in the most critical days war - only confidence in the victory of the Russian people: “We argued with many rods, doubting. False prophets predicted all sorts of troubles, but we always said: "Moscow will stand!", "Leningrad will stand!", "Stalingrad will stand!" So they resisted! The invincible Russian army has grown to the wonder of the whole world! ", Wrote Nikolai Konstantinovich in his article" Glory "in 1943.

In these menacing years for Russia, the artist in his work again turns to the topic native land... During this period, he creates a number of paintings - "Prince Igor", "Alexander Nevsky", "Partisans", "Victory", in which, using the images of Russian history, he predicts the victory of the Russian people over fascism.

Roerich Nicholas Konstantinovich (1874 - 1947)

Nicholas Roerich belongs to the galaxy of outstanding figures of Russian and world culture. An artist, scientist, traveler, public figure, writer, thinker - his multifaceted talent is comparable in size only to the titans of the Renaissance. The creative heritage of N.K. Roerich is enormous - more than seven thousand paintings scattered all over the world, countless literary works - books, essays, articles, diaries ...

Nicholas Roerich was born on October 9, 1874 in St. Petersburg in the family of the famous notary Konstantin Fyodorovich Roerich.

From childhood he was attracted by painting, archeology, history and, above all, the richest cultural heritage of the East. All this, merged together, later gave an amazing result and made the work of Nikolai Konstantinovich unique and vivid.

After graduating from the Karl May Gymnasium in 1893, Nicholas Roerich entered the Law Faculty of St. Petersburg University (graduated in 1898) and the Imperial Academy of Arts at the same time. Since 1895 he has been studying in the studio of the famous artist Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi. At this time, he closely communicates with famous cultural figures of that time - V.V. Stasov, I.E. Repin, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, D.V. Grigorovich, S.P. Diaghilev.

In 1897 N.K. Roerich graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and his diploma painting "The Messenger" was acquired by the famous collector of works of Russian art P.M. Tretyakov.

Already at the age of 24, Nikolai Konstantinovich became assistant director of the Museum of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts and at the same time assistant editor of the art magazine "World of Art".

N.K. Roerich with his sons. 1914 - 1915

In 1899, he met Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova, who became for him a faithful companion and spiritual companion for the rest of his life. The unity of views and deep mutual sympathy very quickly grew into strong and reverent feelings, and in October 1901 the young people got married. All their lives they will go hand in hand, complementing each other creatively and spiritually. Elena Ivanovna will share all the aspirations and undertakings of Nikolai Konstantinovich. In 1902 they will have a son, Yuri, a future orientalist, and in 1904, Svyatoslav, who will choose the same path as his father.

In his books N.K. Roerich called Elena Ivanovna "inspirer" and "friend". He was the first to show her every new painting and highly appreciated her artistic intuition and delicate taste. Many of the artist's canvases were created based on the images, thoughts and creative insights of Elena Ivanovna. But her ideas were not only in his paintings - it is difficult to name at least one area of ​​N.K. Roerich, wherever they are. Elena Ivanovna will always stand behind every creative action of Nikolai Konstantinovich, behind his poems and fairy tales, behind his paintings and travels. According to S.N. Roerich: “The cooperation of N [Ikolaj] K [onstantinovich] and E [Lena] I [Vanovna] was the rarest combination of full-sounding sound on all planes. Complementing each other, they seemed to merge in the richest harmony of intellectual and spiritual expression. "

In 1903 - 1904. N.K. Roerich together with his wife travels through the ancient Russian cities of Russia. They visited more than 40 cities famous for their ancient monuments. The purpose of this "trip through antiquity" was to study the roots of Russian culture. The result of the trip was not only a large series of paintings by the artist, but also articles by N.K. Roerich, in which he was one of the first to raise the issue of the enormous artistic value of ancient Russian icon painting and architecture.

The artist's works on the theme of Christianity, executed in the form of murals and sketches of mosaics for Russian churches, also belong to the same period.

The multifaceted talent of Nicholas Roerich was clearly manifested in his works for theatrical performances. During the famous "Russian Seasons" S.P. Diaghilev, designed by N.K. Roerich hosted "Polovtsian Dances" from "Prince Igor" by A.P. Borodin, "Pskovityanka" N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, ballet "The Rite of Spring" to music by I.F. Stravinsky.

Thanks to Elena Ivanovna, Nikolai Konstantinovich got acquainted with the works of the outstanding thinkers of India - Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, with the literary work of R. Tagore, together they studied the Upanishads.

Acquaintance with the philosophical thought of the East was reflected in the work of N.K. Roerich. If in the early paintings of the artist the defining subjects were ancient pagan Russia, colorful images of the folk epic, the pristine greatness of the still untouched natural element ("Building a City", "Idols", "Overseas Guests", etc.), then from the mid-1900s years, the theme of India and the East is increasingly heard on his canvases and in literary works.

In May 1917, due to a severe lung disease, N.K. At the insistence of doctors, Roerich moved with his family to Finland (Serdobol), on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The proximity to Petrograd made it possible from time to time to travel to the city on the Neva and deal with the affairs of the School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts. However, after the revolutionary events of 1917, Finland closed the borders with Russia and N.K. Roerich and his family were cut off from their homeland.

Nicholas Roerich - the great Russian artist, writer, archaeologist, philosopher, traveler and public figure - was born in St. Petersburg October 9, 1874.(December 13, 1947 - Day of leaving).

Nicholas Roerich's life was a continuous stream of giving and service.

Nikolai Konstantinovich was amazingly able to organize his time without wasting a single minute. He did not have a single superfluous movement, his speech was benevolent, but stingy and laconic.

Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich recalls: “There was balanced harmony in all his movements. He was never in a hurry, and yet his productivity was amazing. Whenever he drew or wrote, he did so with calm deliberation. When he wrote ... he never corrected or changed his sentences, and least of all his thoughts. It was a constant progressive striving for a certain definite goal, and this can be said about his entire life. "

Upon acquaintance with the spiritual teachings of the East, Roerich comes to an understanding of the unity of the foundations for true spiritual teachings. He liked to repeat: "The best roses of the East and West are equally fragrant." He wrote: “I am not belittling either the West, or the South, or the North, or the East, for in essence these divisions do not exist. The whole world is divided only in our minds. But if this consciousness is enlightened, then the lamp of fiery union is kindled in it and the fiery enthusiasm is truly unbreakable. " (N. Roerich. Power of Light)

"Kindling the lights of the spirit, isn't it wonderful to realize that the same lights are shining in other countries as well?".(N. Roerich. Power of Light)

"The light is one, and the gateway to it is truly international ..." (N. Roerich. Power of Light)

The culmination of all spiritual aspirations of N.K. Roerich was his expedition, in his words, to the Heart of Asia.

This expedition had innermost meaning , which was associated with a special planetary mission, which the Roerichs were called to fulfill.

The mission was to give a shift to the consciousness of humanity, to help it rise to new step spiritual evolution through the acquisition of a true understanding of the foundations of life, through the introduction to Cosmic Knowledge and Beauty, which contain the Doctrine of Life - Living Ethics, or Agni Yoga.

Roerich had to become a herald of Culture and Peace in their renewed understanding, as a herald of the spiritual foundations of life.

N.K. Roerich was initiated into the very depths spiritual knowledge. He personally knew Those Who gave this Knowledge to humanity... But “the more knowledge, the more difficult it is to recognize its bearer. He knows how to protect the Inexpressible ", (Brotherhood, 562), Nicholas Roerich was easy to use and never demonstrated his knowledge.

After returning from the Trans-Himalayan expedition, Roerich's activities acquired special intensity and significance. Before him stands high purpose, which was expressed in a short fiery appeal - « Peace through Culture».

He speaks to huge audiences in various cities of Europe and America with lectures on science, art, philosophy, writes numerous articles and books, maintains contacts with many progressive scientists and organizations.

A special place in all his activities is occupied by cultural issues, as a spiritual and universal phenomenon.

Roerich reveals the concept of Culture in a completely new way. He's writing: " ... Culture It has two root- the first druidic, the second eastern. Cult-Ur means Honoring the Light. " (N. Roerich. Power of Light)

The ZhE emphasizes the special importance of works of art in dark times of crisis. The book "Supermundane", 122 says: “The powers of darkness are well aware of how many powerful emanations are emitted by objects of art. Among the onslaught of darkness, such emanations may be the best weapons. The forces of darkness seek either to destroy objects of art, or at least to divert the attention of mankind from them... It must be remembered that a rejected, devoid of attention work cannot radiate its beneficial energy. There will be no living connection between a cold spectator or listener and a closed creation ...This is how each work lives and contributes to the exchange and accumulation of energy. "

Deep awareness of the value of Culture and Art led N.K. to the idea of ​​the need to protect them in the face of the impending chaos and the danger of the collapse of human civilization. So is born Pact for the Protection of Cultural Property in Time of War.

The idea of ​​the Roerich Pact aroused warm support from many states, outstanding figures of science and art, and the public.

On April 15, 1935, in New York, the Peace Pact was signed by US President Roosevelt and representatives of all countries in South America.

Roerich said that only awareness of culture and its introduction into all areas of human life will provide a path to peace and harmony between peoples, will provide the basis that can unite people in their noblest aspirations.

The Living Ethics Teaching says: "My first message to New Russia." (Leaves of the Garden of Moria. Call. Foreword)

Light New Russia carried N.K. Roerich to all countries of the world, giving the opportunity for other peoples to approach the Teaching of the New Epoch, not accidentally given in Russian.

Nicholas Roerich's life was a Great Service that was never interrupted.

Helena Roerich wrote: "... The Guru does not have a single personal thought, everything is resolutely directed and devoted to the service of the Common Good." (Letters to Helena Roerich. 12/17/1930)

During his life, Nicholas Roerich wrote from above seven thousand beautiful and unique paintings... The artist's canvases are crystals of condensed light, with which the creations of his hands are saturated, which is why they have a beneficial effect on those who perceive them.

Roerich's paintings uplift the spirit, teach to see the beauty of the Universe, in addition, they carry healing properties.

“... The exhibition of his paintings collected tens of thousands and raised above their vibration in an enthusiastic perception of the wonderful colors and images that are close to them. Many have long retained the memory of this miraculous upsurge in their feelings. How much good has been spilled by such influences. Who knows how many people have left, cured of an incipient evil disease, who have forgotten about a grievous offense or an unkind intention - under the influence of new vibrations, new thoughts. " (Helena Roerich. 9.04.1948)

Once the famous biologist Boche demonstrated to N.K. Roerich the process of plant dying: "Now I will give poison to this lily, and you will see how it shudders and wilts",- he said. But instead of drooping, the lily rose even higher. The scientist exclaimed: “For a long time I predicted that the emanations of certain strong energies should influence the surrounding physiological processes. You are preventing the death of the plant, move away. " Indeed, when Roerich departed, the life of the plant ceased. The blessed energy emanating from the great humanist artist neutralized the effect of the poison on the plant.

“There are no miracles in the world!THERE IS ONLY this or that DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE. " ( Mahatmas)

Nicholas Roerich, artist who created over 7000 paintings, thinker and public figure, scientist-researcher, philosopher, outstanding fighter for peace on earth, fighter for Culture ...

This far from complete list of determinants characterizes the activities of Nicholas Roerich, who left the world such a cultural heritage, which we will have to comprehend for more than one century.

Many volumes of research have already been written about each of the sides of his multifaceted work. Today we will highlight the main thing.

For the first time in the history of mankind, from the lips of a Russian artist who has absorbed all the power national culture, the call was made: "Peace through Culture". This call becomes the slogan of the coming New Epoch.

Roerich believed that the dome of Culture should cover everything - any sphere of human activity.

Only through Culture possible solution of the most burning problems of mankind, in other words, it is key concept is the only condition that can be put into the basis of the purification and transformation of life on earth.

We must all realize that culture today is a decisive moment, a lifeline in the revival of the former principles of morality.

It is impossible to transform society overnight by directing it towards spiritual guidelines. A long and persistent work lies ahead, drop by drop, which must begin with oneself.

The life and work of the great Master

"Life is always bright. Better than life itself, you still can't invent anything!"

Biography of Nicholas Roerich in audio format, prepared by the Siberian Roerich Society:

Russian period

The ancient Scandinavian family of the Roerichs settled in Russia even under Peter I and gave the Russian state many statesmen and military leaders.By the way, the name of Roerich in some articles is written like this - Rerih. But taking into account our already long-term tendencies in Russian grammar, when we write the word "Christmas tree" as "Christmas tree", it is possible that such a substitution of the letter took place in Roerich's surname over the years.

His father, Konstantin Fedorovich, was a famous notary and public figure. Mother - Maria Vasilievna Kalashnikova, came from a merchant family.

In January 1860, the first train came to Ostrov on the St. Petersburg-Warsaw road under construction. This led to an acquaintancedraftsman (and future notary)Main Society of Russian railways Constantine Roerich and Maria Kalashnikova. They were married on October 16, 1860 in the Trinity Cathedral in the city of Ostrov.

The owner's wife "knew how to create an atmosphere of cordiality and friendliness." The main concerns of Maria Vasilievna were associated with the family and the upbringing of children. Their parents raised them, as was customary for all the gentlemen's children of St. Petersburg, from an early age they took them with them to the theater and to concerts.

In the name of Maria Vasilievna, the estate "Izvara" was acquired, where the children were guaranteed a village freedom. The childhood and youth of Nicholas Roerich was associated with the Izvara estate, which was located not far from the Volosovo station, beyond Gatchina. The estate was surrounded by dense forests, not far from an ice-free lake with ice springs. In the living room there are paintings on the walls in front of which little Kolya stood for a long time. One was amazing: flaming from the setting sunhigh mountains:"… It turned out to be nothing more than Kanchendenga! Where did it come from? How did you get it?" (Kanchenjunga is a mountain range in the Himalayas on the border of India and Nepal).

And another interesting fact: during the time of Catherine II, some Hindu raja lived not far from the estate. The name of the estate "Izvara" was attributed to Indian origin, from Sanskrit the word is translated as "Almighty" or "Divine light".

Nicholas Roerich was born September 27 (October 9 new style) 1874 In Petersburg.

Since childhood, Roerich was also fond oftheater... They built a stage, bought cut pictures for the plays, but this turned out to be not enough, and the boy began to show his own productions: "Undines" by Schiller, "Aida", "Ivanhoe". Candles and colored paper were used to create lighting effects. Love for literature, and especially for poetry, manifested itself even in the fact that poems, epics, legends, folk tales were written down and memorized, and already in old age Roerich quoted many of them from memory. But he also composed: "Olga's Revenge for Igor's Death", "Igor's Campaign", plays on historical themes, essays on hunting.

At the age of nine, Roerich meets a newcomer to Izvaraarchaeologist L. Ivanovsky. The scientist began to excavate in the vicinity of the estate and take the inquisitive boy with him. Subsequently, Roerich, recalling the Izvarsk mounds, wrote: "Nothing and in no waywill bring it closer to the feeling of the ancient worldlike a hand-made excavation ".

In the Kolya family, high notions of honor, dignity, goodwill, hard work and responsibility were assiduously instilled. The question of the meaning of life early began to worry the future artist and thinker.

Nikolai was not in good health from birth. Weak lungs were especially annoying. Persistent colds, bronchitis. After the third grade, the home doctor advised winter and spring hunts for hardening the body, where there was full communication with nature, a thirst for new sensations, a desire to show ingenuity, courage, resourcefulness, and ingenuity.

Older sister - Lydia (married Ozerov), younger brothers- Vladimir (agrobiologist, teacher) and Boris (architect-artist, teacher) Roerichs. Among the friends of the Roerich family were such prominent figures as the scientist D. Mendeleev, the historian N. Kostomarov and many, many others.

In 1891, a family friend, painter and sculptor M.O. Mikeshin drew attention to his hobbydrawingand began systematic studies with him. Acquaintance with the mosaicist I. Kudrin aroused interest in mosaic works.

In 1893, after graduating from the Karl May Gymnasium, Nicholas Roerichat the same time enters at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University (graduated in 1898) and at the Imperial Academy of Arts (graduated in 1897). Since 1895 he has beenin the studio of the famous artist Arkhip Ivanovich Kuindzhi ... At this time, he closely communicates with famous cultural figures of that time - V.V. Stasov, I.E. Repin, N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov, D.V. Grigorovich, S.P.Dyagilev.

Since 1892, Roerich began to conduct independent archaeological excavations... Already in his student years, he becomesmember of the Russian Archaeological Society ... Conducts numerous excavations in the Petersburg, Pskov, Novgorod, Tver, Yaroslavl, Smolensk provinces,is teachingat the St. Petersburg Archaeological Institute (from 1897 to 1903).

Since 1904, together with Prince Putyatin, he discovered several Neolithic sites on Valdai (in the vicinity of Lake Piros). Since 1905, Roerich began to collect a collection of Stone Age antiquities. It was presented at the French Prehistoric Congress in Perigueux (1905), where it was highly praised. By 1910, the collection contained more than 30 thousand exhibits from Russia, Germany, Italy, and France. In the summer of 1910, Roerich, together with N. E. Makarenko, carried out the first archaeological excavations in Novgorod.

In 1897 N. Roerich graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. His diploma painting "The Messenger" was acquired by the famous collector of works of Russian art P.M. Tretyakov.

Stasov V.V., a well-known critic of that time, highly appreciated this picture:"You must certainly visit Tolstoy ... let the great writer of the Russian land himself make you an artist." The meeting with Tolstoy became fateful for the young Roerich. Addressing him, Leo Tolstoy said:“Have you ever crossed a fast river in a boat? You must always rule above the place where you need it, otherwise it will blow. So in the area of ​​moral requirements, you must always steer higher - life will carry everything. 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! We'll have to work hard for the Motherland. "

N.K. Roerich works a lot inhistorical genre... In the early period of creativity creates canvases: "The Elders Are Converging" (1898), "Yaroslavna's Lament" (1893), "The Beginning of Russia. Slavs "(1896)," Idols "(1901)," Build boats "and others. These works show the artist's original talent and innovative search in art. “Already in the first picturesa peculiar style emergesRoerich: his all-encompassing approach to composition, clarity of lines and laconicism, purity of color and musicality, great simplicity of expression and truthfulness. " The artist's paintings are based on deep knowledge 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 becomesassistant director of the museum at the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Artsand simultaneously assistant editor art magazine "Art and Art Industry". Three years later, he takes up the post of secretary Imperial Society promotion of arts.

In 1899 (at the age of 25) he met at the estate of Prince Putyatinwith Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova... In October 1901, their wedding took place. Helena Ivanovna became for Nicholas Roerich a faithful companion and inspiration, their whole life they will go hand in hand, creatively and spiritually complementing each other. In 1902, they had a son, Yuri, a future orientalist, and in 1904, Svyatoslav, future artist and a public figure.

In 1903-1904 N. Roerich together with his wife made a trip across Russia,visiting more than 40 cities , famous for their ancient monuments. The purpose of this "trip through the old days" wasstudying the roots of Russian culture... The result of the trip waslarge architectural series of paintings artist (about 90 sketches) and articles in which Roerich was one of the first to raise the issue of the enormous artistic value of ancient Russian icon painting and architecture.

In 1906 he creates 12sketches for the church Protection of the Virgin on the estate of the Golubevs in Parkhomovka near Kiev (architect V.A. laurels (1910), 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). In 1914 he decorated the church of St. Spirit in Talashkino (composition "Queen of Heaven", etc.). Some mosaics created according to Roerich's sketches by V.A.Frolov's workshop have survived to this day.

Nicholas Roerich's multifaceted talent also manifested itself in hisworks for theatrical performances : "Snow Maiden", "Peer Gynt", "Princess Malen", "Valkyrie" and others. He was among the leading ideologists and creators of the reconstructive "Ancient Theater" (1907-1908; 1913-1914) - a noticeable and unique phenomenon in the cultural life of Russia in the first quarter of the XX century, and N. Roerich participated in this historical and dramatic event and asthe creator of the scenery, and as an art critic ... During the famous “Russian Seasons” by S. Diaghilev, “Polovtsian Dances” from “Prince Igor” by Borodin, “The Woman of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov, the ballet “The Rite of Spring” to music by Stravinsky were staged by N. Roerich in Paris.

The era of the Silver Age, in which Nicholas Roerich began his career, was an era of spiritual upsurge, which undoubtedly influenced the formation of the artist's personality. A galaxy of outstanding thinkers: V.S.Soloviev, E.N. Trubetskoy, V.V. Rozanov, P.A.Florensky, S.N.Bulgakov, N.A. saturating her with intense searches for the meaning of life and moral ideals... The Russian intelligentsia showed particular interest in the culture of the East. In search of values ​​of universal human significance, N.K. Roerich, in addition to Russian philosophy, alsostudied the philosophy of the East , the works of the outstanding thinkers of India - Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, the work of Rabindranath Tagore.

Acquaintance with the philosophical thought of the East was reflected in the works of N.K. Roerich. If in the early paintings of the artist the defining subjects were ancient pagan Russia, colorful images of the folk epic ("The city is being built", "Sinister", "Overseas guests", etc.), thenalready since mid-1905 many of his paintings and essays were dedicated to India("Lakshmi", "Indian Way", "Krishna", "Dreams of India", etc.). Ancient cultures of Russia and India,their common source , are of interest to Roerich as an artist and as a scientist. In his historical concept critical importance has a correlation between the temporal categories of the past, present and future. It measures the past and the present by the future:"... when we invite you to study the past, we will do it only for the sake of the future" . "From ancient wonderful stones, fold the steps of the future" .

From 1906 to 1918 Nicholas Roerich wasDirector of the School Of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, while engaging inteaching work ... Having accepted the appointment, he enthusiastically set to work: expands the territory of the school, opens new departments and classes, restores the pedagogical council in rights, createsMuseum of Russian Art , dreams of reorganizing the School of the Society for the Promotion of Artists into the Free People's Academy, or the School of Arts. A number of workshops are organized at the school. Includingiconographicled by the famous icon painter Tyulin. AtRoerich increased the number of female classes, a female sketch class was created. A senior department, a graphics class, a lithographic workshop, a medal class, a sketch discussion class were created... Introduced lectures on anatomy, ancient Russian art and architecture. Since 1914 began choir classesunder the leadership of S.S. Mitusova. There were also changes in the curriculum: in the nature class, the time for setting up nature was reduced, the copying method of teaching was eliminated, and training in working with glue paints was restored to train decorators. A peculiar report of the six-month activity of the icon-painting workshop was the act of presenting to Emperor Nicholas II on December 6, 1909 an icon made by his students.

Since 1906, the artist has beenparticipates in foreign exhibitions ... We got acquainted with his workParis, Venice, Berlin, Rome, Brussels, Vienna, London. Roerich's paintings were acquired by the Roman National Museum, the Louvre and other European museums.

Since about 1906 it has been celebratednew, more mature period in the works of Roerich. His approach to the historical theme is changing: history, mythology, folklore are turning into sources from which the artist draws material for a metaphorical pictorial language. His art combinesrealism and symbolism ... During this period, the search for a master in the field of color intensified. He almost gives up oil and goes totempera technique ... Many experimenting with the composition of paints, uses the method of superimposing one color tone on top of 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 journals devoted to Roerich's work were published. Leonid Andreev figuratively called the world created by the artist - "Roerich's Power".

In 1909 N.K. Roerich was electedacademician of the Russian Academy of Arts and a member of the Reims Academy in France.

Since 1910 he leads artistic association"World of Art" , whose members were A. Benois, L. Bakst, I. Grabar, V. Serov, K. Petrov-Vodkin, B. Kustodiev, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva and others.

"The greatest intuitionist of the century", according to the definition of A.M. Gorky, N. Roerich expressed his alarming forebodings in symbolic images on the eve of World War I.the struggle of two principles - light and darkness, passing through all the artist's work, as well as the responsibility of a person for his destiny and the whole world. Nicholas Roerich not onlycreates paintings of an anti-war nature, but also writes articles, dedicated to the protection of peace and culture.

In 1915, N.K. Roerich made a report to Emperor Nicholas II and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (junior) with an appeal to acceptserious state measures for the nationwide protection of cultural treasures.

In 1916, due to serious illness lungs N.K. Roerich, at the insistence of doctors, together with his family moved to Finland (Serdobol), on the shores of Lake Ladoga. The proximity to Petrograd made it possible to deal with the affairs of the School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts.

March 4, 1917, a month after February revolution, Maxim Gorky gathered a large group of artists, writers and actors in his apartment. Among those present were Roerich, Alexander Benois, Bilibin, Dobuzhinsky, Petrov-Vodkin, Schuko, Chaliapin. The meeting electedArts Commission. M. Gorky was appointed its chairman, and 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 N. Roerich and his family were cut off from their homeland.

In 1919, having received an invitation from Sweden, Nicholas Roerichtravels with exhibitions in Scandinavian countries . In the same year he travels to London hoping to go to India.

Together with my wife joins the Theosophical Society founded by H.P. Blavatsky ... In the autumn of the same year, at the invitation of S.P.Dyagilev, he designs Russian operas to the music of M.P. Mussorgsky in London and A.P. Borodin.

In 1920 N.K. Roerich received an offer from the director of the Chicago Institute of Arts to organizebig exhibition tour in 30 cities of the USA ... Among the 115 canvases of the artist were exhibited: "Treasure of Angels" (1905), "Last Angel" (1912), "Viking's Daughter" (1917), "Call of the Sun" (1918), "Ecstasy" (1917), the series "Heroics" and "Dreams of the East" and others. The exhibitions were a great success. In America, Roerich painted a series of paintings "Sancta" (Saints), "New Mexico", "Ocean Suite", "Dreams of Wisdom", etc.

In America, Roerich earned a reputation as a seer, guru, and enemy of war.

At the expense of the provided charitable funds,cultural and educational organizations .

In November 1921, New York openedMaster Institute for United Arts , the main goal of which was the rapprochement of peoples 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 source must be open to all. The light of art will illuminate countless hearts with new love. First, this feeling will come unconsciously, but after that it will clear all 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. "

Almost simultaneously with the United Arts Institute in Chicago, there wasthe association of artists "Cor Ardens" ("Flaming Hearts") was established , and in 1922 aroseInternational Cultural Center "Corona Mundi" ("Crown of the World") .

November 1923 Nicholas Roerich's New York Museum was opened containing large collection paintings by the artist (see below).

Ouija sessions. "Automatic writing"

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

Direct notes by the method of automatic writing were made mainly by N. Roerich, and partly by his son Yuri. That. a series of pencil portraits depicting the Eastern Teachers - Buddha, Lao Tzu, Sister Oriola, Allal-Ming and others. According to Helena 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. Roerich on the evening of June 2, 1920, and, as usual, sat with his son in the latter's room, talking about different scientific topics... I didn’t know that Nicholas Roerich 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 answer, I was asked to come in and sit at the table. The room was full of light, and I clearly saw that any possibility of deception was ruled out. The table nervously shook and jumped, and when they asked him who it was (there was a conventional knock: once - yes; twice - no; three times - amplified yes), whether it was the Teacher, then the table jumped up and hit once. Then there was a sequential message of letters. Namely, one of those present called the alphabet in a continuous order, and when the letter was pronounced, a knock followed. Several phrases were collected in this way. "

The Roerichs' seances are also known from their intra-family correspondence and diary entries.During the "table-turning" seances, which were not an end in themselves, the Roerichs triedestablish contact with Teachers (Mahatmas)what, according to their data, they managed to dofrom the second half of 1921... Later the Roerichs began to prohibit their entourage from using seances, and the Roerichs' family no longer needed the help of the table to introduce their “interlocutors” and to “hear” them.

Roerich himself did not consider himself a spiritualist and a mystic, arguing that the striving for "cognition of the subtlest energies" is not mysticism, but a search for truth.

Merging Buddhism with Communism. "Mahatma Lenin"

After the October revolution, Roerich stood in open opposition to Soviet power, wrote accusatory articles in the émigré press. butsoon his views suddenly changed, and the Bolsheviks were in the category of Roerich's ideological allies.In the fall of 1924, he went from America to Europe , where he visited the representation of the USSR in Berlin, met with the plenipotentiary envoy N. N. Krestinsky and then with his assistant G. A. Astakhov.

Ideological closeness to communism manifested itself in the Roerichs' literature.The Mongolian edition of 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). 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, paragraph 64 of the 1936 Communities no longer contains the words that were in the 1926 edition:"Take Lenin's appearance as a sign of the sensitivity of the Cosmos" .

In Khotan (southeast Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region China) the Roerichs got the famousa letter from the Mahatmas to be handed over to the Soviet government and a chest with Himalayan soil on the grave of "Mahatma Lenin" ... Roerich personally handed all the gifts to the People's Commissar Chicherin in June 1926, who handed them over to the Lenin Institute. Also in Khotan, on October 5, 1925, the artist conceived the painting "Mount Lenin", which is now kept in the Nizhny Novgorod Museum fine arts... The picture clearly depicts the easily recognizable image of Lenin. Later Roerich renamed the painting "The Phenomenon of Term", but in Moscow it appeared under its original name, about which Roerich wrote with his own hand: "Lenin's Mountain".Mount Lenin rises in a cone between the two wings of the white ridge.Lama whispers: "Lenin was not against true Buddhism" - from the manuscript of N. Roerich's expeditionary diary "Altai-Himalayas", preserved in the archive Foreign policy RF (Moscow), entry dated 02.10.1925.

To drug education A. V. Lunacharsky, Roerich gave 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 for a long time they hung in A. M. Gorky's dacha.

Central Asian expedition 1924-1928

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

December 2, 1923 N. Roerich with his family arrives from America to India. The route of the expedition passed through Sikkim, Kashmir, Ladakh, China (Xinjiang), Russia (with a stop in Moscow), Siberia, Altai, Mongolia, Tibet, through the unexplored regions of the Trans-Himalayas. The expedition continuedfrom 1924 to 1928year. The expedition was officially declared as an American one.

During the expedition,archaeological and ethnographic research in unexplored parts of Asia, foundrare manuscripts collected linguistic materials , works folklore, descriptions madelocal customs written by books("Heart of Asia", "Altai - Himalayas"), created aboutfive hundred paintings, on which the artist depicted a picturesque panorama of the expedition route, a series of paintings "Himalayas" began, the series "Maitreya", "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 Horsh, created two business corporations in New York - Ur and Belukha, which had the goal of conducting broad business entrepreneurship on the territory of the Soviet Union. While in Moscow during the expedition, Nicholas Roerich wanted to obtain 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 exploring the possibility of "organizing a cultural and industrial center in the area of ​​Belukha Mountain."

Nicholas Roerich's first Central Asian expedition took place in several stages. Upon arrival in Mongolia, she 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 an artistic and archaeological expedition, but, according to its leader, Roerich, had the status of a diplomatic embassy on behalf of the "Union of Western Buddhists".

In the fall of 1927, the expedition was detained by the Tibetan authorities on the outskirts of Lhasa and for five months was in a snow captivity high in the mountains on the Chantang plateau, where Roerich wrote numerous letters to the Tibetan authorities, including the Dalai Lama, about how the first "Buddhist Embassy". The expedition was never allowed to enter Lhasa and was forced, at the cost of incredible difficulties and losses, to make its way to India.

Institute for Himalayan Studies "Urusvati"

The extensive scientific material collected by the Roerichs during the expedition required systematization and processing, and at the end of the expeditionThe Institute for Himalayan Studies was founded in New York on July 12, 1928and then in the Western Himalayas,in the Kullu valleyN.K. Roerich foundsInstitute "Urusvati", which in translation from Sanskrit means "Light of the Morning Star". Here, in Kullu, the last period of the artist's life will take place. Yuri Roerich, the eldest son of Nicholas Roerich, an orientalist, became the Director of the Institute. He also supervised ethnological and linguistic research and exploration of archaeological sites.

The institute workedmedical, zoological, botanical, biochemical and many other laboratories... A largework 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 specialists and temporary employees collected botanical and zoological collections.

Dozens of scientific institutions in Europe, America and Asia collaborated with the institute. He sent scientific materials to the University of Michigan, New York Botanical Garden, Punjab University, Paris Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Botanical Garden of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Academician NI Vavilov, a famous Soviet botanist and geneticist, applied to the Urusvati Institute for scientific information, and also received seeds from there for his unique botanical collection. Collaborated with the institute and such outstanding scientists asAlbert Einstein, Louis de Broglie, Robert Milliken, Sven Gedin and others... Since 1931, a yearbook has been published at the institute, in which the results were published scientific activities his staff. Scientific and periodicals from Asia, Europe and America published articles on special issues developed by Urusvati.

A global crisis soon broke out, then World War... The Institute for Himalayan Studies was deprived of opportunities for activity and was mothballed.

Louis Horsch and the Master Building

In 1922, Roerich met a prosperous New York brokerLouis L. Horsh(Louis L. Horch) and his wife Nettie (Nettie).

In 1925, while Roerich was in Asia, Horsch beganconstruction of the Master Building (The master building, the title can be translated asHouse of the Teacher or House of the Master). The Master Building was a 29-story Art Deco skyscraper, on the first two floors of which the Roerich Museum and The Master Institute of United Arts were located, and on the upper floors there was an apartment hotel. For the construction of the building in 1923 a public organization was established - the Roerich Museum, managed by President L. Horsh and the Board of Trustees, N. Roerich was elected Honorary President. Funding sources were Horsch donations and a bond loan.

The House of the Master was solemnopened in November 1929... The museum's collection includedmore than a thousand paintings by Roerich, works of art of Tibet, library of Tibetan manuscripts... An auditorium with 300 seats was intended for holding public events. Institute for the United Artsorganized classes in painting, sculpture, architecture and design.

Horsch also helped Roerich in his other endeavors - he financed the expedition "Guru" and the enterprises organized by him, first of all the concessions "Ur" and "Belukha". Since 1929, all commercial undertakings by Roerich and Horsch have gone unsuccessfully. Roerich's Manchu expedition of 1934-35 (see below) turned, as it was perceived from the United States, into a complete scandal; the American press accused Roerich of “humiliating the US government”. In August 1935, a crisis broke out, and Horsch stopped communicating with Roerich.

Horsch, as President of the Roerich Museum and its creditor, had significant influence on the Council of Attorneys. As it turned out, control over the House of the Master essentially belonged to Horsch, and Roerich disposed of it on not entirely clear agreements with Horsch. As a result of a series of scandals, seizures of property and litigation The Roerich Museum and the Institute were closed by 1938, the building fell under the control of Horsch.

Horsch initiated an audit of the US tax service, as a result of which NK Roerich's non-payment of income tax in the amount of $ 48,000 was revealed, and also won a lawsuit against Roerich in the amount of $ 200,000. Together with Roerich's rupture with Minister G.E.that Roerich was never able to return to the USA... Some of the paintings were sold by the Horsch family to private collections; the museum was closed until 1949.

Manchurian expedition 1934-1935.

Roerich, having analyzed the tendencies of world politics and the prophecies collected in the Central Asian expedition, 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 participate in this process whenever possible, he is organizing a long-term expedition to Manchuria and northern China through the US Department of Agriculture. In 1930, Roerich became friends with G.E. Wallace, who, after becoming Minister of Agriculture in the Franklin Roosevelt administration, sent Roerich on an expedition to collect plant seeds that prevent the destruction of fertile soil layers.

The expedition was organized in 1934-1935 and consisted of two parts. The first route included the Khingan Range and the Bargin 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 parts of modern China. The artist wrote a lotsketches, spent archaeological research , collected materials on linguistics and folklore ... Roerich wrote within 17 months222 essaysfor Diary Leaves, which reflect expeditionary work, touch on scientific and philosophical topics. As a result of the expedition, it was foundabout 300 species of drought-resistant herbs, collected medicinal plants. 2,000 parcels of seeds were sent to America. Agriculture Secretary Henry Wallace, who initiated the expedition, later said that almost all of the seeds found were either of low value or none at all.

However, during the expedition, Roerich, ignoring for the most part the mission entrusted to him, plunged into Asian politics, vainly encouraging 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 wasexploring the possibilities of creating a new state in northeast Asia... Roerich was also active among the numerous Russian emigration, becoming a prominent 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, inflated a scandal in the press. The Japanese authorities, supported by pro-Japanese circles, were dissatisfied with Roerich's work to unite the emigration in the Far East and campaigned in the Harbin press to discredit Roerich's cultural mission. The Japanese censorship arrested the entire print run of Nicholas Roerich's book "The Sacred Watch" printed in the printing house. After the publication of a scandalous article in the Chicago Tribune in June 1935, where it was reported about 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 early 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 the Banner of Peace

In his philosophical and artistic sketches, Roerich creates a new concept of Culture based on the ideas of Living Ethics. Culture, according to NK Roerich, is closely related to the problems of the cosmic evolution of mankind and is the "greatest foundation" of this process."Culture rests on Beauty and Knowledge" - he wrote. Beauty is perceived by a person only through Culture, of which creativity is an integral part. This is also stated in the books of Living Ethics.

In the broad concept of Culture N.K. Roerich includedsynthesis of the best achievements of the human spirit in the field of religious experience, science, art, education... Nicholas Roerich formulated the fundamental difference between Culture and civilization. IfCulture is related to the spiritual world of a person in his creative self-expression , then civilization is only the external arrangement of human life in all its material, civil aspects. The identification of civilization and Culture, Nicholas Roerich argued, leads to 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 also must protect it.

Creation and signing of the Pact

In 1929 N.K. Roerich, in collaboration with Dr. international law and political sciences of the University of Paris, G. Shklyaver prepares a draft Treaty for the Protection of Cultural Property (Roerich's Pact). Together with the Treaty N.K. Roerich proposes distinctive sign to identify 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 Nicholas 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. As a result, a number of countries have formed committees in support of the Covenant. The draft of the Covenant 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 an educational value.“The Pact for the Protection of Cultural Treasures is needed not only as an official body, butas an educational lawwho from the first school days will educate the young generation with noble ideas about preserving the true values ​​of all mankind " , - said Nicholas Roerich. The idea of ​​the Pact was supportedRomain Rolland, Bernard Shaw, Rabindranath Tagore, Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, HG Wells and etc.

The US State Department found the pact “useless, weak and impracticable". On August 30, 1933, the government announced that the Roerich Pact was unnecessary, since all the clauses 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 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.

On June 23, 1935, a scandal erupted in America, provoked by an article by Peking journalist John Powell in the Chicago Tribune newspaper, and concerning Roerich's Manchurian expedition.As a result of the scandal, Henry Wallace prematurely terminated Roerich's expedition and did everything to annul the Pact... To this end, on October 24, 1935, he sent out a series of letters to officials and ambassadors of Latin American states and practically all European powers, informing about"Those who fanatically continue their policy, uplifting the name, not the ideal" (57 countries in total). Having lost faith in Roerich, Wallace even tried to rename the Roerich Pact.

Roerich's Pact became the first international act specially dedicated to the protection of cultural values,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 ConferenceUNESCOit was decided to start work on international legal regulation in the field of protection of cultural property in the event of an armed conflict. In 1954, the Roerich Pact formed the basis for the Hague "International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict".

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

The Second World War

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

During the war, 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", "Heroes Awake" and others, in which he uses images of Russian history and predicts the victory of the Russian people over fascism.

last years of life

In India, Nicholas Roerich was personallyfamiliar with famous Indian philosophers, scientists, writers, public figures.

In 1942, Nicholas Roerich hosted the Indian freedom fighter Jawaharlal Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi in Kullu. Together we discussed the fate of the new world, in which the long-awaited freedom of the conquered peoples will triumph. 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 grasped the spirit of these mountains, displaying their countless moods and color combinations. Nicholas Roerich's paintings inspired many new trends among our artists ”.

In India, the artist continues to work on a series of paintings "The Himalayas"more than two thousand paintings ... For Roerich, the mountain world is an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Art critics noted a new direction in his work and called “master of the mountains". In India, the series "Shambhala", "Chinggis Khan", "Kuluta", "Kulu", "Holy Mountains", "Tibet", "Ashrams" and others were written. Exhibitions of the master were exhibited in various cities of India and they were attended by a large number of people ...

Immediately after the end of the war, the artist applied for a visa to enter the Soviet Union, but on December 13, 1947, he passed away without ever knowing that he had been denied a visa.

In the Kullu valley, on the site of the funeral pyre, a large rectangular stone was erected on which the inscription was carved: “On December 15, 1947, the body of Maharishi Nicholas Roerich, the great Russian friend of India, was burnt here. Let there be peace. "

Inheritance

After the death of Nicholas Roerich, it turned out that in his will he wrote: “I hereby bequeath all my property, paintings, literary rights ... for life to my wife Helena Roerich. After her, I will bequeath all the said property to the All-Union Communist Party. " Roerich appointed JV Stalin, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs GV Chicherin and Consul General of the USSR in China A. Bystrov as executors of his will.

In 1957, part of N. Roerich's property was brought to Moscow by his eldest son Yuri. More than 400 paintings weretransferred to the stateand formed the basis of the exposition of the corresponding sectionMuseum of Oriental Art... The most valuable paintings family archive N. Roerich kept works of art of the peoples of the East and other things in his apartment. He died in 1960, and a significant part of N. Roerich's inheritance continued to remain in his apartment, since the decision by the USSR Ministry of Culture to create a memorial apartment museum was delayed. Nicholas Roerich's former housekeeper and her husband, who categorically refused to give the values ​​that did not belong to them, remained in the apartment.

Another part of the inheritance remained in India, in the possession of Roerich's youngest son, Svyatoslav. In 1974, in connection with the celebration of the anniversary of Nicholas Roerich in the USSR, Svetoslav Roerich brought from India a collection of his and his father's paintings. 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 Svetoslav Roerich was transferred to them.To the Soviet Roerich Foundation.

Roerich movement

The Roerich movement emerged in the 1920s in countries such as the USA (New York), Latvia (Riga), France (Paris), Bulgaria (Sofia). In the 1920s and 1930s, Roerich's societies began to be created, with the goal of promoting the Roerich Pact, while at the same time spreading the ideas of Agni Yoga ("Living Ethics"). Since 1935, after the end of support for Roerich from the businessman Louis Horsch and the politician Henry Wallace, the movement began to decline.

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

Roerich societies, circles and groups also existed in Germany, Switzerland ("Crown of Mundi"), Estonia, Manchuria (Harbin).

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.

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 (Riverside Drive, 310) with the help of a close circle of Roerich's associates with the financial support of businessman Louis Horsch. At that time, it was the only museum in America dedicated to the work of only one artist. Since 1929, the museum and all Roerich institutions were housed in a purpose-built building on the site of the former museum - a 29-storey skyscraperThe master building... However, the conflict between the Roerichs and Horsh, which began in 1935, led to the ruin of all of Roerich's American organizations, including the closure of the museum.

Thanks to the efforts of Helena Roerich, Catherine Campbell-Stibbe and Zinaida Fosdick, another Nicholas Roerich Museum was opened in New York in 1949. 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.

Roerich Museum in Riga (1933-1940)

The Roerich Museum in Riga was founded in 1933 by the Latvian Roerich Society on the initiative of N.K. Roerich. The basis of the exposition was made up of forty canvases by N. Roerich, including "Brahmaputra" (1932), "Stronghold of Tibet" (1932), "Chapel of St. Sergius "(1936)," Kuluta "(1937), Himalayan and Mongolian landscapes. The museum existed until 1940. In January 2010, a commemorative plaque was unveiled on the building that housed the museum.

Museum of the International Center of the Roerichs in Moscow

As a result of complex and dramatic events, the Nicholas Roerich Museum was created under the International Center of the Roerichs public organization, the director of which is Lyudmila Shaposhnikova.

The first exposition was opened at the museum on February 12, 1993. In the halls of the museum, annual international scientific and social conferences with the participation of prominent scientists and public figures are held, exhibitions and concerts are organized, lectures on the Roerich heritage are read.

Museum-estate of N.K. Roerich in Izvara

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

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

The museum holds conferences, holidays, poetry and music evenings, and international peacekeeping actions. Since 2002, a complex scientific expedition has been operating on the territory of the Museum-Estate to study the nature of Izvara, archaeological research is being carried out. On July 31, 2006, the Governor of the Leningrad Region VP Serdyukov signed an Order on the development of a project for the creation of a specially protected natural area "Monument of Nature" within the boundaries of the Museum-Estate of Nicholas Roerich in Izvara.

Museum of the Roerich family in St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg government agency Culture "Museum-Institute of the Roerich Family" was created on March 12, 2007. The basis of the memorial exposition of the Museum-Institute was the legacy preserved by the niece of Helena Roerich 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. Today its funds number about 15 thousand items, including personal belongings, manuscripts, paintings, arts and crafts, archaeological finds, photographs and other exhibits related to the life and work of the Roerich family.

N. Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk

House-Museum of the Roerichs in Ulan Bator

Awards

Chevalier of the Russian Orders of St. Stanislav, St. Anna and St. Vladimir.

Knight of the Yugoslav Order of St. Sava.

Commander of the Order of the Legion of Honor of France.

Chevalier of the Royal Swedish Order of the Pole Star.

List of organizations of which N.K. Roerich was a member (45 items)

Member of the Russian Academy of Arts.

Founder of the Institute for 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.

Member of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts (Zagreb).

Member of the Portuguese Academy (Coimbra).

Member of the Reims Academy (France).

Full 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 Education Society (India).

Honorary Member of the Mora 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 (Paris).

Member of the Salon d'Automne (Paris).

Life member of the Society of Antiquaries (Paris).

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).

Founding member of the Ethnographic Society (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 Protection historical 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 Nagati Prachari Sabha (India).

Life Member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal (Calcutta).

Life member of the Society for the Art of the East (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).

Honorary member of the Luzas Society (Paris).

Honorary Member of the League for the Defense of the Arts (Paris).

Patron of the Cultural Society (Amritsar, India).

Philanthropist 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 Natural Medicine Association of America (Los Angeles, California).

Honorary President of the Center for Arts and Culture (Allahabad, India).

President of the League of Culture (USA).

Honorary President of the American-Russian Cultural Association in New York (USA).

Major works of N.K. Roerich

Art and Archeology // Art and Art Industry. SPb., 1898. No. 3; 1899. No. 4-5.

Some antiquities of the Shelonskaya pyatina and the Bezhetsk end. SPb., 1899.

Stone Age on Lake Piros. SPb., 1905.

Collected Works. Book. 1.M., 1914.

Paths of Blessing. New York, 1924.

Heart of Asia. Southbury, 1929.

Power of Light. Southbury, 1931.

Fiery Stronghold. New York, .

Banner of Peace. Harbin, 1934.

Sacred Watch. Harbin, 1934.

Gateway to the Future. Riga, 1936.

Indestructible. Riga, 1936.

Altai - Himalayas: Travel diary. M., 1974.

From the literary heritage. M., 1974.

Moria's Flowers: Poems. M., 1984.

Fairy tales. L., 1991.

Abode of Light. M., 1992.

Take care of the old. M., 1993.

Ancient sources. M., 1993.

Life artists. M., 1993.

To a young friend. M., 1993.

Urusvati. M., 1993.

East - West. M., 1994.

Culture and civilization. M., 1994.

About the Great Patriotic War. M., 1994.

Fenugreek. M., 1994.

The soul of nations. M., 1995.

Diary sheets. In 3 volumes. M., 1995-1996.

Shambhala. New York, 1930.

Banner of Peace. New York, 1931.

Himalayas - Abode of Light. Bombay, 1947.

Adamant. New York, 1967.

Estimates of N.K. Roerich and his work

At the request of Roerich in the spring of 1919L. Andreev wrote an article "Roerich's Power":

... 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 clairvoyance.

Nikolay Gumilyovhighly appreciated the work of Roerich:

Roerich is the highest degree of contemporary Russian art ... His manner of 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 creative work, Roerich opened the unopened areas of the spirit that our generation is destined to develop. .

Prime Minister of IndiaJawaharlal Nehru :

When I think about Nicholas Roerich, I am amazed at the scale and richness of his work and creative genius. great artist, a great scientist and writer, archaeologist and researcher, he touched on and illuminated so many aspects of human aspirations. The number itself is amazing - thousands of paintings, and each of them is a great work of art .

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

NK Roerich was an ascetic of culture on a worldwide scale. He raised the Banner of Peace, the Banner of Culture over the planet, thereby showing humanity the ascending path of perfection .

Likhachev also considered Roerich, along with Lomonosov, Derzhavin, Pushkin, Tyutchev, Soloviev, etc.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,Leon, Mih. Roshalsaid the following:

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

In October 1975, Prime Minister of IndiaIndira Gandhi, who personally knew N.K. Roerich, expressed the following opinion about the Russian artist:

His paintings are striking in their richness and subtle sense of color and, above all, remarkably convey the mysterious grandeur of the nature of the Himalayas. 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 a restrained power emanated from him, which seemed to fill the entire surrounding space. We deeply respect Nicholas Roerich for his wisdom and creative genius. We also value him as a link between the Soviet Union and India ... I think that Nicholas Roerich's paintings, his stories about India will convey to the Soviet people a part of the soul of their Indian friends. I also know that Nicholas Roerich and his family in many ways contributed to the creation of a more complete picture of the Soviet country in India.

President of RussiaVladimir Putinthis is how he spoke about N.K. Roerich(answer to the question: What are your associations with India?)

First, we must immediately recall the famous artist Nicholas Roerich, both in Russia and in India. 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 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 visit to India on December 3-5, 2002.

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)".

In Moscow, on the territory of the Lopukhins' estate, in front of the Museum named after N.K. Roerich, a monument to N.K. and E.I. Roerich is erected.

One of the streets in the center of Riga is named after N. Roerich.

In the village of Izvara, Leningrad Region, where Nicholas Roerich lived for a long time, the Museum-Estate of Nicholas Roerich has been operating since 1984.

In St. Petersburg there is the St. N. Roerich and the Roerich family museum.

In 1999, the Bank of Russia issued two commemorative coins dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the birth of N.K. Roerich.

The motor ship "Artist Nicholas Roerich" was named in honor of Nicholas Roerich.

In 2003, the Nicholas Roerich International Prize was established in honor of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, and has been awarded annually since then.

In 2007, the new Aeroflot airliner was named after Nicholas Roerich.

Acquaintance with the life and work of Nicholas Roerich is included in the compulsory education program for high school students in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. This decision was made by the Education Council of this region in the north of India, where Nicholas Roerich and his family lived for many years. According to Chaman Lal Gupta, chairman of the Himachal Pradesh State Board of Education, the younger generation should be aware of 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 the Indian tradition is considered to be a destiny predetermined for man” - noted Chaman Lal Gupta.

On March 25-26, 2008, within the framework 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 founding of the studies of "Urusvati" and the 100th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Indian film actress Devika Rani Roerich, the wife of N. Roerich's youngest son -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 has fully met our expectations. Over 150 events were held within its framework. But, of course, not only their number is impressive, but also the originality of these events. This is 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 unveiled on the territory of the special economic zone "Turquoise Katun" in the Altai Territory.

Within the framework of the celebration of the 135th anniversary of the birth of N. Roerich, on November 11, 2009 in one of the largest universities of the Indian capital "Jamia Millia Islamia" (New Delhi) Grand opening photo exhibition "Banner of Peace - Roerich Pact", organized by the Representative Office

Rossotrudnichestvo in India jointly with the Academy of Third World Studies (ATWS-JMI)

The International Exhibition Project “Roerich's Age” (St. Petersburg) was timed to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Roerich Pact in 2010, 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 N.K. Roerich was unveiled in St. Petersburg. A 3.5-meter high Karelian granite monument was erected in the Vasileostrovets garden at the intersection of Bolshoy Prospekt with the 25th line of Vasilievsky Island. Sculptor V. V. Zaiko and architect Yu. F. Kozhin.

Named after N.K. Roerich the new kind riders from Nepal,Lathrolestes roerichi Reshchikov, 2011

In 2013, the International Astronomical Union named a crater on Mercury after N. Roerich

On October 15, 1969, the 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 is registered.

In October 1999, in his speech at the Museum named after Nicholas Roerich 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 by unanimous opinion the title is accepted. The emergence of the small planet "Roerich" is an international recognition of creativity and outstanding achievements 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. Scriabin, V. Slyusarchuk, Y. Salivon, B. Gusev, S. Lobanov climbed to a previously unnamed peak and named it after N.K. Roerich.

Next to Roerich's peak there is a pass also named after him.

Glacier and passes named after N. 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 Chontash, Tuz and Achiktashsu rivers. The first ascent of the pass was made by a group of climbers led by A. Posnichenko.

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

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

Postage stamps with the image of N.K. Roerich and his work

1974, USSR - A marked envelope was issued by the Ministry of Communications of the USSR. It depicts a portrait of Nicholas Roerich against the background of his painting "Guests from Overseas". In the same year, a stamp with an image of this painting was released.

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 N. Roerich's artistic, scientific and social activities.

1977, USSR - The Ministry of Communications of the USSR issued two stamps depicting the Church of the Holy Spirit in Talashkino, above the entrance of which the "Savior Not Made by Hands" mosaic was made according to N. Roerich's sketches.

1978, Bulgaria - a stamp with a fragment of N. Roerich's portrait by S. N. Roerich was issued. In addition to the stamp, a first day envelope was issued, and on April 5, 1978 at the Sofia main post office, the first day was canceled.

1986, Mexico - Año Internacional de la Paz coupon stamp issued. On the stamp - the emblem of the UN and the symbol of the Banner of Peace by Nicholas Roerich, the signatures - “ONU” (UN) and “Pax Cultura” (Pact of Culture).

1990, USSR - two stamps were issued, dedicated to the Soviet Culture Fund. One of them reproduces the painting of Nicholas Roerich "Unkrad" (1909), the second - the painting "Pskov-Pechora Monastery".

1999, Russia - the publishing center "Mark" of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of Russia issued a marked envelope "Russian artist N. Roerich. 1874-1947 "dedicated to his 125th anniversary. The stamp depicts a fragment of a 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 publishing center "Mark" of the Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of Russia issued a marked envelope dedicated to the International Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historical Monuments (Roerich's Pact). The illustration shows N. Roerich's painting “Pact of Culture. Banner of Peace "(1931).

2003, Moldova - a stamp with the image of the painting “Pact of Culture. Banner of Peace ”(1931), as on the 2001 Russian stamp.

2008, Russia - the publishing center "Marka" issued an envelope dedicated to the Central Asian expedition of Nicholas Roerich (1923-1928).

International organizations, foundations and museums

Scientific department of the Roerichs' heritage in State Museum Of the East

Nicholas Roerich Museum (New York)

International Center-Museum. N.K. Roerich (Moscow)

International Council of Roerich Organizations named after S. N. Roerich (Moscow)

International Memorial Trust of the Roerichs (Naggar, India)

Museum-estate of N.K. Roerich in Izvara (St. Petersburg)

Museum-Institute of the Roerich family (St. Petersburg)

Research Foundation of the Roerichs (St. Petersburg)

Odessa House-Museum. N.K. Roerich (Odessa)

Roerich organizations

N. Roerich Museum (Novosibirsk)

Memorial House-Museum of N.K. Roerich in Altai (Verkhny Uimon village)

Siberian Roerich Society (Center Novosibirsk)

Kuzbass Roerich Society (Center Novokuznetsk)

Videos

"Nicholas Roerich - Messenger of Beauty". 2008 year

"Time to collect stones ..." - a documentary about the Roerich Pact. Directed by Valery Shatin, 2007.

"Letters. Nicholas and Svyatoslav Roerichs ”. 2005 year.

"Artist Nicholas Roerich". USSR, 1958

Nicholas Roerich. Kievnauchfilm studio, 1976

"The Legend of the First Secret of the Cosmos." Studio "Cinema", 2011

Interesting Facts

In 1912, a monument in the form of an ancient Novgorod cross was erected on the grave of composer N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov, made according to N.K. Roerich's sketch

The famous historian and orientalist L.N. Gumilev used a fragment of N. Roerich's painting “Timur's Flowers. Lights of Victory "(1931) for the cover design of his book" Hunnu "(1960)

On April 12, 1961, during the first flight into space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin wrote in the logbook:

The rays shone through the earth's atmosphere, the horizon became bright orange, gradually turning into all the colors of the rainbow: blue, blue, violet, black. Indescribable colors! As on the canvases of the artist Nicholas Roerich

On June 5, 2013, Roerich's painting "The Works of Our Lady" was sold at the auction house Bonhams in London for 7.88 million pounds. This is a world record for a painting by a Russian artist.