THE HERALDS OF BEAUTY
(From the family chronicle
of Nicholas Roerich
and his family)
Mikhail Chiryatyev,
Saint Petersburg branch
of the International Centre
of the Roerichs
The life and work of the Roerichs is closely connected with Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Nikolay Konstantinovich, his wife Elena Ivanovna and their younger son Svetoslav were born in this city. India, however, became their second home. Here is documentary story about that.
At the source
Nikolay Konstantinovitch Roerich, whose last name pertains to the ancient Scandinavian clan of Roerich, which means “rich in fame” was born on October 9, 1874 in Saint Petersburg, in the house № 25 near Nikolsky bridge, in the vicinity of the Mining Institute, Academy of Fine Arts, University and the Academy of Science. His father’s notary was in the same building. His father, Konstantin Fiodorovitch was a lawyer well-known in the capital.
Among the memories of Nikolay Konstantinovich’s childhood were summer trips to the town of Ostrov and to the family estate Izvara in the vicinity of St.Petersburg. It is worth noting that the estate’s name resembles Sanskrit word “Ishvara” meaning “God” or “Lord”. In Hinduism this word denotes personal Deity or Divine spirit within a human being.
As legend has it, one Indian Raja lived in this area in the Empress Catherine’s time and left the traces of a Mogol style park behind. It is Izvara that the initial scientific interests of the future scholar and artist are connected to. When he was only ten, he was taking part in the archaeological excavations and found an ancient burial mound. Six years later he presented a substantial collection of the ХIIth century relics found there to the Imperial Archaeological Commission.
“My first burial mounds finds did not only concur with my favourite history lessons, - wrote Nicholas Konstatntinovitch, - but in my memories they were close to geography and Gogol’s fantasy. Touching upon the items of great antiquity arose a great admiration in me. Much of the unspoken charm was in the bronze bracelets covered with patina, fibulas, signet-rings, rusty swords and axe filled with the thrill of the ages long gone”.
Early awakened talent and love for arts had brought Nikolay Konstantinovitch to St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. He studied painting with A.I.Kuindji, who became not only his art teacher, but the Teacher of life. Simultaneously, he attended lectures at the History and Linguistics Department of the University and, at the request of his father - at the Department of law.
The artist’s diploma work “Messenger. The kinsfolk has risen against each other” was highly estimated by L.N.Tolstoy and in 1897 it was purchased by the famous patron of art and art collector P.M. Tretiakov.
After Roerich’s completion of studies at the Academy of Arts he was invited to work at the Imperial Society for encouraging Arts. Later, he became the director of the largest Russian Art School of this Society and implemented many innovative ideas in education. Cultivation of the artistic taste and supporting creative originality of the students were of primary importance to Nikolay Konstantinovich. He wished that realisation of beauty becomes the leading principle in his pupils’ lives, joined with the ennobling and spiritualising force of the real art.
In 1899 Roerich came to Bologoie for the archaeological excavations at the estate of prince Putyatin. There he met Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova - niece of the prince’s wife,
a great-granddaughter of the famous Russian military commander M.I. Kutuzov and well-known composer M.P. Musorgsky’s relative.
They were destined to walk together along the heroic and beautiful path. She was his life companion, inspirer, leading to the infinite expanses of the spirit, opening beauty of the cognition of space to the people. He would call her Druginia, Lada, and used to say that there should be both their names on his paintings.
Their elder son Yuri, who was born in 1902, would become a famous scholar, an orientalist. Svetoslav, who was two years younger, would choose the same profession as his father.
In 1909 Roerich was elected the member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts.
During all these years he travelled a lot, at the same time continuing to paint and participating in setting decorations for theatrical performances and studying archaeology and history.
In 1916-1918, due to progressing lung disease of the artist, the Roerichs would spend most of the time in Karelia. The exhibition in Stockholm was organised with the help of their friends. After that there were Finland, Norway, Denmark, Great Britain. The journey into the new life had started.
“Your art is independent…”
Roerich’s inclination to the East emerged long time ago and was not fortuitous. Elena Ivanovna brought attraction and love towards India to the family. In the age of 24 she came across the books of Shri Ramakrishna and Vivekananda, whom she considered to be among her first spiritual teachers. «The radiant personality of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda’s bright mind have echoed in my heart as a powerful call for spiritual synthesis” – she reflected on her impressions of her first encounter with their books in St.Petersburg.
Nicholas Roerich discovered Rabindranath Tagore’s poetry in Lithuanian poet Jurgis Baltrushaitis’ translation while being a student. He fell in love with his songs and the image of India became dear to his heart. Years later, being in England, he wrote to Tagore:
“Dear Master! Let my words remind you of Russia where the live poetic images created by you, carrying the beauty and comfort to human life as well as your own personality are surrounded with the aura of admiring respect. You bring into the modern life that elevated spiritual joy which gives force to those aspiring for the rainbow future. Please, take the greetings from bottom of the Russian artist’s heart. Sincerely yours, Nicholas Roerich”.
Tagore replied:
“Your pictures have touched me deeply. They made me realise one obvious thing, which everyone has to discover over and over again: that the truth is boundless… Your pictures are understandable but indefinable by words. Your art is jealous of its independence, because it is great.”
Tagore came to visit Roerich in his London studio and they had a long talk about India. Roerich called him “my brother in Spirit”. The great poet invited the artist to visit India. However, it took Roerich a long time to see India, because the great American tour lied ahead.
Triumph in America
The exhibition tour of the artist from St. Petersburg started in New York. He took 175 canvases to America. They had a great success. Newspapers were full of exalted comments. The audience (and it counted tens of thousands) was impressed by the philosophical depth of the works, as well as by the unseen before selection of colours. Roerich received invitations from Boston, Buffalo, Chicago and from more than 20 other American cities. He worked a lot in America: delivering lectures on art and culture, publishing articles.
A circle of like-minded people appeared around Roerich. They helped to establish new cultural and educational organisations. Roerich considered the education of people and their rapprochement through culture and art to be their main goal.
The Roerich’s museum founded in New York in 1923 with its rich collection of the artist’s works became an example of the life-asserting art.
Only in spring of 1923 Roerich along with his family returned to Europe. In November they started for India from Marcel.
Second Motherland
The new Indian period of the Roerichs’ life started at the Gate of India welcoming all those who enter Bombay by the sea. They travelled through all Indian sights of interest, starting from the ancient island caves of Elephanta where gigantic stone divine images met them in silence and grandeur. They saw Ajanta’s frescoes and fabulous cave temples of Ellora. In Agra they visited wonderful Taj-Mahal, majestic marble mausoleum, built in XVII th century by the emperor Shah Jahan. In Sikander they visited the mausoleum of the highly revered emperor Akbar the Great. They also visited Fatekhpur Sikri – the abandoned city with a beautiful architecture, constructed by Akbar in XVI th century. The imperial capital of Great Mogols was located there for some time and the great unifier constructed the Temple of united knowledge there, and had discussions with the wise counsellor Birbal.
Having reached Ganga, they visited Varanasi (Benares) where different historical layers of culture merge and co-exist simultaneously. They also visited Sarnath, located nearby, where Buddha delivered his first sermon, and numerous Hindu temples. In Calcutta they visited the Ramakrishna Mission, paying homage to the memory of the great saint, who had proved with his own life the inherent unity of the foundations and goals of all world religions.
The famous Central Asiatic expedition (1925-1928) has started from India as well. In that respect Nicholas Roerich wrote:
“I travelled together with my wife and son Yuri. The guards were changing depending on the regions; we were travelling with camels and horses. Sikkim, Kashmir, Minor Tibet, Karakorum, Yarkend, Kashgar, Altai, Mongolia, Central Gobi, China, Sydan, the Himalayas, Tibet, again Sikkim – that was our route. We saw unexplored regions, people who had never spoken to the whites; we were happy to hear the tales and legends, perhaps, completely unknown in Europe. I had accomplished this journey as an artist and archaeologist and the knowledge I had gained from it would never be effaced…”
Complexity and fruitfulness of the expedition were unprecedented. It followed the ancient routes of the peoples’ transmigration, which connected the countries, ethnic groups and cultures of the East and the West. New mountain ranges were discovered; archaeological monuments examined; ancient manuscripts collected, legends and sagas studied; comparative analysis of the religious concepts and folk art carried out.
All that allowed Nicholas Roerich to create approximately 500 canvases. The great master embodied in his canvases all that he learned during the expedition.
His wife was his devoted life-companion and inspirer. Elena Ivanovna kept a diary, wrote philosophical books. She became the first woman in history who managed to conduct research under harsh conditions of the Central Asian expedition. The research done by her had an evolutionary meaning for the future.
Their elder son Yuri also gained a lot from the expedition. He was very young at that time. However, it was Yuri who was responsible for the expedition security. Thanks to his excellent knowledge of Tibetan, Mongolian, Chinese, Hindi and other languages and dialects expedition could communicate easily with the locals and conduct important scientific research on history, culture and religions of the Central Asian peoples.
All collected materials needed to be systematised and required further research in the conditions of a scientific institute. In 1928 the Roerichs established the Institute of Himalayan Studies “Urusvati” which in Sanskrit means “The light of the morning star”. The Institute was located in the picturesque Kullu valley. The Institute was named after E.I. Roerich. The elder sun Yuri Nikolaevitch became its director. The Institute became the first high altitude scientific centre. The work of the Institute synthesized scientific and humanitarian disciplines as well as the ancient and modern knowledge. The Institute research works had in many respects outridden today’s scientific level. The Institute established connections with eminent scientists from different countries.
There, in the Western Himalayas, Nikolay Konstantinovitch and his family found their home. The artist would return here after his new expeditions to Manjuria, China, India and trips to America. From that abode surrounded by the snowy peaks, letters and articles would be sent all over the world. The fundamentals of first in history of mankind global movement for the protection of culture would be thought over here and the international “Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments” would be prepared here as well. The latter was specifically devoted to the protection of cultural values, because Roerich perceived culture as the basis of unity and prosperity of mankind. (This treaty, known as the “Roerich Pact” was adopted in Washington on April 15, 1935. The Banner of Peace was adopted along with the Pact). The last years of his life the artist would spend in Kullu. N.K. Roerich passed away on December 13th, 1947.
Later on, E.I. Roerich and Yuri Nikolaevitch moved to Kalimpong, situated on the other side of the Himalayas. There, until her last days in October 1955, Elena Roerich continued to work on her philosophical treatises that bear great significance for the generations to come.
Sons
Following his parents’ precept, in 1957 George Roerich returned to his motherland. During his work in the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow, he founded a new school in orientalism, organized exhibitions of his father, and gave a strong impetus to the study of great creative legacy of his parents. Untimely death had cut short the work of a great scholar 3 years after his return.
Starting from 1934, the younger son of Nicholas Roerich permanently lived in India. Svetoslav Nikolaevitch was an artist like his father. But not only an artist. His talents were multifaceted and his knowledge profound. He was not only interested in art, but also in botany, ornithology, mineralogy and pharmacopoeia. He was also deeply involved in cultural and peacemaking activities, inspiring young people to serve the lofty ideals. In 1945 he married a grandniece of Rabindranath Tagore, the Indian film star Devika Rani.
Svetoslav Nikolaevitch was constantly in contact with Russia. He managed to handover major part of his parents’ legacy to the Centre-Museum named after N.K. Roerich in Moscow founded by him. He was awarded the Order of Friendship of the people for the consolidation of friendship ties between the two countries, and in India – a high civil award of Padma Bhushan (Order of the Lotus).
Svetoslav Roerich passed away in India in 1993. He was buried in Tataguni estate in Bangalore’s vicinity (state of Karnataka). At present the work on construction of the memorial centre for arts is going on there. The long-awaited centre for Culture that will attract the devotees of beauty from all over the world is appearing on the sacred Indian soil.
The museum complex of the Roerichs’ estate in Kullu already attracts up to 100 thousand visitors annually.
Former Ambassador of Russia in India, Mr. A. M. Kadakin was right when he called mutual friendship between Russia and India a “Magnet of the Roerichs”.
During the visit of the President of Russia, Mr. V.Putin to India, the outstanding achievements of the Roerichs were much spoken about. In the concluding Joint Statement of the President of Russia and former Prime-Minister of India A.B. Vajpayee, “the need to protect and promote the unique artistic and cultural legacy of the Roerich family which has an abiding significance to Indo-Russian friendship” was specifically noted.
May the power of this vital cordial magnet grow!
N.K. Roerich wrote the following words:
“India’s heart is reaching for the infinite Russia.
The great Indian magnet is attracting Russian hearts.
Verily, Altai – Himalayas are two magnets, two balances, two abutments.
How joyful it is to see vitality in Indian-Russian ties…
There exists beauty in the Indian-Russian magnet”.
