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Lot Essay
In 1923 Nicholas Roerich and his family began extensive travels through India, Tibet, Mongolia, Turkestan (Xinjiang), Altai, and other regions in Central and East Asia. In 1928 the expedition culminated with the family’s arrival to Kullu Valley in the Himachal Pradesh in India, known for its beautiful temples and surrounding mountains. Here, Nicholas Roerich and his family settled and established the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute, which was founded to study the results of their travels as well as future expeditions, with a parallel office established in his New York Museum. Today in India the Institute serves as a memorial and research center, continuing the mission of the Roerich family. In 1929 Roerich traveled to New York to be present for the opening of the new premises of his museum, where his works would be housed and exhibited for years to come.
The years 1929-1935 were pivotal for Nicholas Roerich, when his art and philosophies reached the attention of international leaders and politicians. Roerich’s lifelong spiritual quest and his appeals for the preservation of culture, art and science led to the formalization of the Roerich Pact, signed in the White House by representatives of North, Central and South America, in the presence of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
This milestone was preceded by similar events in Europe and later in Asia, as Roerich strove to broaden the recognition of his goals for cultural, historic and spiritual preservation. Roerich’s earliest presentation of the Pact was to the League of Nations, and Committees of the Roerich Pact were formed in Paris and Bruges. In 1931, An International Union of the Roerich Pact was founded in Bruges under the guidance of Belgian Heritage committees. This was followed with two important conferences that intended to implement the tenets of the Roerich Pact into life – the first subsequent to the founding, and the second in 1932, where the decision to recognize the Pact as an international treaty was first taken. Throughout these important events, a number of Roerich’s works were on loan in Bruges.
Mount “M” is directly related to one of these loans. One of Roerich’s inscriptions on the reverse of the backing board of the study refers to Bruges, where Roerich’s painting with the same title was on loan for several years, and later shipped to the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York, and where it has remained since.
The present work was mostly likely sent by Roerich to New York in 1932. An exquisite study, this work provides an intimate perception of Roerich’s painting depicting the majestic mountain ranges in the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh. A beautiful detail of the painting is captured in this study, initially carefully drawn by Roerich in pencil, following his observations in situ. The lines are drawn with precision, endeavoring to dutifully represent the impressive mountain peaks. Offset by varying rays of light, the mountains glow with pigments ranging from indigo and magenta to lighter pinks and blues, which Roerich deftly created with watercolor and tempera, his favored medium.
We are grateful to Gvido Trepša, Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York for his assistance with cataloging this work.
The years 1929-1935 were pivotal for Nicholas Roerich, when his art and philosophies reached the attention of international leaders and politicians. Roerich’s lifelong spiritual quest and his appeals for the preservation of culture, art and science led to the formalization of the Roerich Pact, signed in the White House by representatives of North, Central and South America, in the presence of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
This milestone was preceded by similar events in Europe and later in Asia, as Roerich strove to broaden the recognition of his goals for cultural, historic and spiritual preservation. Roerich’s earliest presentation of the Pact was to the League of Nations, and Committees of the Roerich Pact were formed in Paris and Bruges. In 1931, An International Union of the Roerich Pact was founded in Bruges under the guidance of Belgian Heritage committees. This was followed with two important conferences that intended to implement the tenets of the Roerich Pact into life – the first subsequent to the founding, and the second in 1932, where the decision to recognize the Pact as an international treaty was first taken. Throughout these important events, a number of Roerich’s works were on loan in Bruges.
Mount “M” is directly related to one of these loans. One of Roerich’s inscriptions on the reverse of the backing board of the study refers to Bruges, where Roerich’s painting with the same title was on loan for several years, and later shipped to the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York, and where it has remained since.
The present work was mostly likely sent by Roerich to New York in 1932. An exquisite study, this work provides an intimate perception of Roerich’s painting depicting the majestic mountain ranges in the Lahaul district of Himachal Pradesh. A beautiful detail of the painting is captured in this study, initially carefully drawn by Roerich in pencil, following his observations in situ. The lines are drawn with precision, endeavoring to dutifully represent the impressive mountain peaks. Offset by varying rays of light, the mountains glow with pigments ranging from indigo and magenta to lighter pinks and blues, which Roerich deftly created with watercolor and tempera, his favored medium.
We are grateful to Gvido Trepša, Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York for his assistance with cataloging this work.