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Lot Essay
Apart from being one of Russia’s most well-known artists of the 20th century, Nicholas Roerich (also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh) is one of nine artists in India designated as ‘National Art Treasures’. Deeply influenced by Russian Symbolism, which emphasized the spiritual aspects of painting, Roerich’s mystical and meditative works, including his renowned series of Himalayan mountainscapes, have captivated viewers across the world for close to a century.
The artist was inspired by the unique geography and spiritual qualities of India’s landscapes, particularly the Himalayan mountain ranges, from a young age. Born to a Baltic German father and a Russian mother, Roerich and his siblings spent their holidays at Isvara, their family estate outside St. Petersburg. Roughly translated from Sanskrit, Isvara means ‘Lord’ or ‘divine spirit’. The estate was named by its previous owner, Count Semyon Vorontsov, who was deeply influenced by his travels through India. Vorontsov also left a painting of Himalayan peak, Kanchenjunga, at Isvara, which captured Roerich’s imagination, and would later become a frequent and favorite subject of his paintings. It was also at Isvara that Roerich discovered and nurtured his affinity for the natural world and ancient history, exploring them through art and other hobbies like archeology.
In 1923, Roerich, his wife Helena, and their sons George and Svetoslav finally embarked on a long-awaited journey to India. After thoroughly exploring the region on expeditions through Central Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Siberia and Mongolia, which Roerich documented in several paintings as well as his book, Heart of Asia, the family settled in Darjeeling in 1929, where the artist was able to continue to capture the area’s stunning mountain vistas in paint. “In March 1925, Roerich's Central Asian expedition began [...] Their point of departure was Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir in the Western Himalayas [...] On May 26, 1928, after covering 15,500 miles and traversing thirty-five of the world's highest mountain passes in the course of their three-year journey, they arrived back in Darjeeling. It had been not only a scientific expedition but a spiritual quest” (J. Decter, Nicholas Roerich, London, 1989, pp. 159-173).
The present lot, from the artist’s well-known ‘Mountain Suite’ of works, depicts Karakoram, a mountain range extending northwest from present-day Ladakh and Kashmir across the borders of India, Pakistan and China to Afghanistan. Named after the Turkic term for ‘black rock’, this strikingly rugged range includes K2, the world’s second highest peak, and several important passes and glaciers, many of which became subjects of Roerich’s paintings during his Asian expedition in the second half of the 1920s. Here Roerich offers a view of a couple of the range’s snowcapped peaks lying beyond two darker mountains in the foreground. Masterfully using brushwork and negative space, the artist conveys the extreme winds whipping around the peaks, perfectly capturing the beautiful yet forbidding landscape of Karakoram.
Nicholas Roerich remained in India with his family until his death on 13 December 1947, a few months after India’s independence. A spiritual teacher and prolific artist, Roerich’s legacy lives on not only in his body of work, but in his dedicated service to education and the preservation of art and culture around the world.
We are grateful to Gvido Trepša, Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York for his assistance with cataloging this work.
The artist was inspired by the unique geography and spiritual qualities of India’s landscapes, particularly the Himalayan mountain ranges, from a young age. Born to a Baltic German father and a Russian mother, Roerich and his siblings spent their holidays at Isvara, their family estate outside St. Petersburg. Roughly translated from Sanskrit, Isvara means ‘Lord’ or ‘divine spirit’. The estate was named by its previous owner, Count Semyon Vorontsov, who was deeply influenced by his travels through India. Vorontsov also left a painting of Himalayan peak, Kanchenjunga, at Isvara, which captured Roerich’s imagination, and would later become a frequent and favorite subject of his paintings. It was also at Isvara that Roerich discovered and nurtured his affinity for the natural world and ancient history, exploring them through art and other hobbies like archeology.
In 1923, Roerich, his wife Helena, and their sons George and Svetoslav finally embarked on a long-awaited journey to India. After thoroughly exploring the region on expeditions through Central Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Siberia and Mongolia, which Roerich documented in several paintings as well as his book, Heart of Asia, the family settled in Darjeeling in 1929, where the artist was able to continue to capture the area’s stunning mountain vistas in paint. “In March 1925, Roerich's Central Asian expedition began [...] Their point of departure was Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir in the Western Himalayas [...] On May 26, 1928, after covering 15,500 miles and traversing thirty-five of the world's highest mountain passes in the course of their three-year journey, they arrived back in Darjeeling. It had been not only a scientific expedition but a spiritual quest” (J. Decter, Nicholas Roerich, London, 1989, pp. 159-173).
The present lot, from the artist’s well-known ‘Mountain Suite’ of works, depicts Karakoram, a mountain range extending northwest from present-day Ladakh and Kashmir across the borders of India, Pakistan and China to Afghanistan. Named after the Turkic term for ‘black rock’, this strikingly rugged range includes K2, the world’s second highest peak, and several important passes and glaciers, many of which became subjects of Roerich’s paintings during his Asian expedition in the second half of the 1920s. Here Roerich offers a view of a couple of the range’s snowcapped peaks lying beyond two darker mountains in the foreground. Masterfully using brushwork and negative space, the artist conveys the extreme winds whipping around the peaks, perfectly capturing the beautiful yet forbidding landscape of Karakoram.
Nicholas Roerich remained in India with his family until his death on 13 December 1947, a few months after India’s independence. A spiritual teacher and prolific artist, Roerich’s legacy lives on not only in his body of work, but in his dedicated service to education and the preservation of art and culture around the world.
We are grateful to Gvido Trepša, Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York for his assistance with cataloging this work.