With Vspominaya Roerich@150, Bengaluru joins the world in honouring Nicholas Roerich who was not solely a painter and author, but in addition a thinker and humanitarian. The phrase ‘Vspominaya,’ is Russian for ‘remembering’ and aptly sums up a glimpse of Roerich’s superb legacy.
Roerich, who was born Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh, on October 8, 1874 in Russia’s St Petersburg, created over 7,000 work and authored 29 books. Put collectively by Vijayashree CS, curator on the Chitrakala Parishath Museum, Vspominaya Roerich @ 150 is a tribute to a person method forward of his time.
In line with Vijayashree, Chitrakala Parishath homes the biggest assortment of Roerich’s artwork in India with 36 of his items, surpassing even the Roerich Property which possesses 32. “Internationally, quite a lot of museums are celebrating Roerich with particular occasions, exhibitions or conferences. At Chitrakala Parishath, we’ve got 36 of his works that are a part of Roerich’s Himalayan Research Sequence that have been donated to us by his son Svetoslav Roerich, with 63 of his personal works.”
Nicholas Roerich
| Picture Credit score:
Credit score: Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
“The exhibition has been titled ‘Vspominaya,’ as we needed to recollect, recollect and revisit Roerich and his relevance at present.”
Past the canvas
All 36 items by Roerich are at present on show and Vijayashree elaborates on their significance. “Roerich produced his Himalayan Research Sequence following his travels and after he settled in India. He was drawn to the Japanese concepts of mysticism and to this finish, he would take up lengthy expeditions into the Himalayas, Tibet, Mongolia and Central Asian areas for a deeper understanding of their cultural, scientific and inventive sides.”
Aside from being an artist, Roerich additionally researched the medicinal worth of herbs, vegetation and minerals discovered within the Himalayas. Throughout these cultural expeditions, he would carry all his provides in cardboard containers, typically slicing them open to sketch out his preliminary research and impressions. Later, he would return to his studio and make bigger canvases utilizing them as a reference.
“Although these works have been executed on packing materials, they need to be appreciated for their very own proper,” says Vijayashree, including that regardless of their small dimensions of 18 inches by 12 inches, “he successfully captured the vastness of the mountain, its majesty and mighty nature; his works are fairly spectacular due to this.”
Roerich was fascinated by the thought of Shambhala, described in Tibetan, Buddhist, Upanishads and early Hindu texts as a great realm of magnificence, peace and fact — an utopian land nestled within the secret valleys of the Himalayas.
From Vspominaya Roerich@150 at Chitrakala Parishath
| Picture Credit score:
Credit score: Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
“It was believed the lofty peaks of Kanchenjunga held the gateway to Shambhala, which is why this explicit mountain captivated Roerich,” she says.
Guests to Vspominaya Roerich @ 150 will get to see shiny blues and different vivid hues Roerich used to seize the grandeur of the mountains on this collection.
International emissary
Deeply disturbed by the collateral harm brought on by World Warfare I, Roerich drafted the Roerich Pact, one of many first worldwide peace pacts within the protection of cultural objects, which was accepted and signed as a treaty by world leaders in 1935.
“Roerich managed to get the international locations to rally behind this pact, which basically mentioned that even throughout instances of struggle, conflicting international locations ought to shield cultural websites as he believed they have been a shared heritage of humanity that didn’t belong to 1 geographical area or sovereign state,” explains Vijayashree.
Roerich’s forethought set the blueprint for UNESCO and different cultural heritage organisations — a undeniable fact that good points significance given the present political local weather, she provides, saying, “It is vital for us to revisit his message of peace.”
From Vspominaya Roerich@150 at Chitrakala Parishath
| Picture Credit score:
Credit score: Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath
The artist was additionally instrumental in designing the Banner of Peace, a logo of three crimson dots inside a crimson circle, to depict peace and cultural safety. The Banner of Peace, related to the Roerich Pact, is aimed toward “the safety of inventive and scientific establishments and historic monuments” and has been raised over many a mountain, and been current at quite a few diplomatic workout routines around the globe, in addition to being integrated as a motif by varied establishments.
Aside from sections devoted to Roerich’s contributions to humanity, Vspominaya Roerich @ 150 can also be showcasing calendars and publish playing cards depicting works by the artist on show at different museums, in addition to an article sourced from a New York journal in 1935, highlighting the significance of the Roerich Pact and the Banner of Peace.
Vspominaya Roerich@150 is on until November 18 at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. Entry free.
Printed – November 15, 2024 11:24 am IST
