Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich

Roerich Museum, New York, 1923–1935
Nettie and Louis Horch, USA

St. Petersburg, Exhibition of the artists of the Mir Iskusstva society, January – February, 1911
Moscow, Exhibition of the artists of the Mir Iskusstva society, February – March, 1911
Stockholm, Gummesons Konsthall, Rörich Separatutställning, November 10-30, 1918. no.13
Copenhagen, Kunsthadel Henry Schou, Rörich Maleriudstilling, opened January 10, 1919. no.13
Helsinki, Salon Strindberg, Nicholas Roerich Konstutställning, opened March 29, 1919. no.71
London, The Goupil Gallery, Nicolas Roerich. Spells of Russia, 1920, no.60
Worthing, The Public Art Gallery, Nicolas Roerich. Spells of Russia, 1920, no.110
New York, Kingor Galleries; Boston, Boston Art Club; Buffalo, Albright Art Gallery; Chicago, Art Institute; St Louis, City Art Museum; San Francisco, Museum of Art, The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition, 1920–1921, no.62
New York , Nicholas Roerich Museum permanent collection, 1923–1935, no.62

 

N.Yablonsky, V poiskakh Drevnei Rusi, St. Petersburg: Svetoch, 1911, vol.1, p.29, (illustrated)
A.Benois, 'Khudozhestvennie pis'ma', Rech', 1911, 7/20 January, p.3
S.Makovsky, 'Vystavka Mir Iskussta', Apollon, 1911, No.2, p.14-24
Baltrushaitis et al., Rerikh. Petrograd: Svobodnoe Iskusstvo, 1916, p.219 (illustrated p.109)
C.Brinton, The Nicholas Roerich Exhibition, New York, 1921, no.62 (illustrated pl. [3]).
F. Grant et al. Roerich, Himalaya, A Monograph. New York: Brentano Publ., 1926, p. 197

 

The board appears sound. There is some light surface dirt. The colours are fairly fresh. Held in a simple carved wood frame and behind glass, unexamined out of frame.
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Painted in 1910.

At the beginning of his artistic career, Roerich was regarded as an artist who painted exclusively about the prehistoric past, and this canvas is a particularly fine example of the genuine enthusiasm he felt for life lost in history and scorned by modern society. He celebrated the spiritual culture of simple people, and their intimate understanding of nature and its secret workings, seeking to convey the harmony they felt with the world and themselves. It is an earnest invitation to look at a way of life and set of values that, in his mind, were essential to the survival of the declining western world.

Roerich's use of shape and colour in depicting a Pagan rite illustrates his view of the close connection between man and nature. In this surreal setting, the clouds, islands, trees, land and water are of the same essence as the men and their huts. The movement of the figures seems to inspire the dynamic clouds, and the serenity of the seated figures mimics the immovable rocks. Specks of light reflect in the clouds, the water, and the people, suffusing the scene with an all-embracing glow that almost leaps off the canvas.

The joy and nostalgia one feels from looking at this scene directly attests to Roerich's power in making his viewers recapture the idyllic union between nature and mankind.

In 1919, Roerich painted another version of The Stone Age, giving it the title The Call of the Sun (fig.1). It has, however, lost the innocence present in the previous work, as the World War I and Bolshevik revolution have left their mark. The original remains a radiant combination of Roerich's artistic skill and passion for his message.

We are grateful to Gvido Trepša, Senior Researcher at The Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York for providing this note.