Nicholas Roerich
Nicholas Roerich (originally Russian Николай Константинович Рерих / Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich; * 27 Septemberjul / October 9 1874greg, St. Petersburg, .. † December 13, 1947 in Kullu, India) was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, scientist, traveler and philosopher. He initiated the Roerich Pact, a precursor of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and has been nominated several times for the Nobel Prize. In early years, he co-founded with his wife, Helena Roerich, on the initiative of their spiritual leader, the Masters of Wisdom, the theosophical Agni Yoga Association ( Living Ethics ).
Life and work
Roerich came from a respected Russian family who lived in Russia since the Peter I times. The father Roerich, Konstantin Fedorovich was born in Latvia and had Swedish roots; his mother, Maria Wassiljewna Kalaschnikowa from Ostrow. She came from a Tatar - Russian family. At the time of Nicholas II Nicholas Roerich studied law and art in St. Petersburg and was regarded in art circles at an early age and successful. His first novel caused a sensation and was acquired by the influential collector Tretyakov. Roerich Leo Tolstoy was presented. In addition to painting, he also devoted himself to the design of sets and costumes. In 1901 he married Yelena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova. From 1905, there was intense artistic relations with Sergei Diaghilev, and 1909 Roerich designed costumes and sets for the theater. The general public he was known in 1913 when he said " The Rite of Spring " (Le Sacre du Printemps ) Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky cooperated in ballet as a librettist and outfitters.
The outbreak of the Russian Revolution was to emigrate with his family via Finland first to London and then to the USA it after 1917. In 1921, Roerich New York's Master Institute of United Arts, which had to cease its activities in 1937 during the Great Depression. 1923 Roerich came to India. From India, he undertook extended trips to Tibet, China, Siberia and Mongolia. Roerich was in the village of Naggar in the Kullu Valley (Himachal Pradesh ) is a second home. He explored the culture of the Himalayan region. The landscapes of the Himalayan Mountains are also a prominent focus of his late paintings,
He created the frescoes and the famous Jesus mosaic above the entrance of the Holy Spirit Church in the artists' colony Talashkino near Smolensk.
In the Art Gallery of Novosibirsk and Nizhny Novgorod in the art museum there are large collections of his works. In Moscow and New York, there are each a museum exhibiting his paintings exclusively.
Roerich's paintings revolve around three major issues
Roerich had two sons. The elder son George (1902-1960) was a noted scientist Asia. The younger Svetoslav Roerich (1904-1993) was a painter and in 1945 married the well-known Indian actress Devika Rani Roerich Chaudhary, a great-niece of Rabindranath Tagore. The couple lived in Bangalore. He participated in founded by his father Urusvati Institute for the Study of the history, flora and fauna of the Himalayan region. The inhabited by the family house in the Kullu Valley, located above the palace of Raja - Naggar, is now a museum.