The Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk is one of the spiritual and cultural centers dedicated to the great Russian artist. It presents not only more than 60 paintings by N.K. and S.N. Roerichs, but also tells about their scientific, cultural and research activities.
History of the Museum. Roerich
The foundation of the museum’s collection was begun in 1960 by the son of Roerich, who bequeathed 60 paintings by his father to the city of Novosibirsk. The great artist visited this city in 1926 during his long scientific Central Asian expedition (1923 - 1928) to study ethnography, folklore, archaeological sites in a vast territory, starting from Russia and ending with the Himalayas. During the trip N.K. Roerich created more than 500 paintings, drawings and sketches.
Under the terms of the gift, the paintings should have been exhibited constantly, so in 1970 the idea of creating a museum to them. The Roerich in Novosibirsk has already matured completely. The building was erected entirely on donations from private individuals and patrons. “People’s construction” dragged on for a long time, as it fell on the crisis 90s, so the official opening took place only in 2007.
The initiator of the Roerich cultural center in Novosibirsk was N.D. Spirina, a well-known scientist involved in the study of his work, which was already 86 years old by the time the museum was built.
The main expositions of the museum
The two-story building of the museum was built in a classic style. In total there are 4 rooms, the materials of which are divided thematically.
Roerich Museum (Novosibirsk) - description and expositions:
- The first room presents the family tree, history, education, habits, illustrated with numerous photographs. It also exhibited the Banner of Peace, which managed to visit the south and north poles and even in space distances, publications in magazines, newspapers, etc.
- The second exhibits canvases written by N.K. and S.N. Roerichs during travels, as well as interesting artifacts and objects found in expeditions to Asia: bronze bowls from Mongolia, Buddhist tanks, etc.
- The third is dedicated to Russian Orthodoxy; paintings with churches, icons, instructive philosophical subjects are exhibited here.
- The 4th fireplace room presents iconographic images and a wonderful fireplace created in the Gzhel style.
In the foyer of the Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk, a stone column with a large portrait of N.K. Roerich. He is known not only as an artist, but also as a historian and archaeologist, traveler, poet and writer, as well as a public figure and philosopher who adheres to humane ideas in the struggle for peace and calls for the protection of the cultural heritage of mankind. All rooms have an elevated and peaceful atmosphere.
N.K. Roerich - the beginning of the creative path, Russia
Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (1874 - 1947) is an outstanding figure in world culture. Nature endowed him with multifaceted talents, including: painting (more than 7 thousand works), literature (books, articles, diaries and essays), social activities. After graduating from the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1897, he immediately began working as an assistant director of the Museum of the Imperial Society and in the editorial office of the art world Mir Art magazine.
In 1901 he creates a family with his spiritual associate and like-minded person, Elena Ivanovna Shaposhnikova, with whom he lived for many years in love and happiness. They had 2 sons: the eldest, Yuri, became an oriental specialist, the younger, Svyatoslav, followed the path of his father, becoming an artist.
In 1903 - 1904 he and his wife travel to cities of Russia in order to study the origins of Russian culture, as a result of which a series of paintings, murals and sketches of mosaics for Orthodox churches appeared.
Several times the artist participated in the productions of the Diaghilev Theater, designing the sets for the ballets Polovtsian Dances, Prince Igor, etc. During this period, he became acquainted with the works of Indian thinkers and became interested in the philosophy of the East and the work of the poet R. Tagore.
Scientific expeditions and cultural activities
In the 1920s, N.K. Roerich worked in the USA, and then went with his family to India, where he began preparations for an expedition to the mountains of Central Asia. His journey ran through China, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, Tibet and the Himalayan mountains (1924 - 1928). Then N.K. Roerich founded the Himalayan Institute “Urusvati” dedicated to scientific research. In 1934 - 1935 he led another expedition to the regions of Mongolia and China to study plants (under the auspices of the United States).
In the 1930s, a series of essays was published devoted to the creation and description of a new concept of culture, the philosophy of which is based on the ideas of the Living Ethics related to the issues of cosmic evolution of all mankind. Then, sensing the imminent threat of a world war, Roerich developed a draft document on the protection of cultural historical heritage, which was supported by many famous figures of art and science. It was signed in 1935 at the White House (Washington, USA), in 1945, on its basis, the International Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property during the period of military conflict in The Hague was developed. Roerich proposed the use of a special Flag of the World, as a symbol of inviolable objects belonging to culture and art.
During the war period 1941 - 1945 Nikolai Konstantinovich writes paintings, arranges sales exhibitions, the money from which will be transferred to the Red Army fund, trying to help his homeland survive in the fight against fascism. Already after the end of the war, he tries to return to Russia, but he dies in December 1947, never knowing that the government of the USSR refused him a visa.
Exposition of the works of N. K. Roerich
In the N.K. Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk, the exhibition of paintings is often changed in order to cover the artist’s work as widely as possible, which has more than 7 thousand works in the world. These include not only paintings, but also sketches for paintings, theatrical scenery and mosaics.
The main directions of painting:
- Ancient Russia and its saints.
- The wisdom of Indian philosophers, the Himalayas.
- “Lights of the World” - paintings dedicated to the leaders and founders of moral teachings, women, images of symbolic and philosophical subjects, heroic themes, the painting “Saint Sergius of Radonezh”, the founder of the Trinity Monastery, is exhibited in the museum for reproductions.
Himalayan series of works by N.K. Roerich presents picturesque and beautiful mountain views. It is for these paintings that he is called the "singer of the Mountains", who inspiredly and secretly conveys the true spirit of these peaks. Among the exhibits there are sketches written by tempera, which gives the paintings rich colors and an unusual glow. They make a cosmic impression, the analogy with these canvases was even noted after his first flight by Yuri Gagarin.
There are stands in the same hall where religious exhibits are represented: Orthodox icons, ancient scriptures, as well as Buddhist and Hindu figurines and tanks, books on world spiritual teachings (Bhagavad-gita, Koran, etc.). Roerich devoted most of his life to the study of various world religions, and at the beginning of his work he was engaged in working with mosaics in the design of Orthodox Russian churches (1900s).
The theme of heroism is consecrated in the reproduction of the painting "Nastasya Mikulichna" (1943), written during the war against fascism. According to experts, this woman is the personification of the invincible power of Russia. She is depicted sitting on a powerful horse against the backdrop of the rising dawn of the New World. Women's themes played a large role in the work of the artist, who assigned the weak half of humanity a leading role in saving the planet from spirituality, which could lead strong men.
In one of the halls of the 2nd floor there is also a collection of minerals, which the artist collected throughout his life, traveling and visiting distant corners of the world.
Pictures of Svyatoslav Roerich
Creativity S.N. Roerich, who lived for many years in India, is dedicated to the natural beauty of this country and its people. All his life he studied the history and culture of the peoples of the East, led the art school in Bangalore (India). He actively participated in the expeditions of his father, and also engaged in organizational activities, managing the Roerich Museum in New York. In the 1960s and 70s, he came to the USSR to hold exhibitions of his and his father's works.
His paintings, presented at the Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk, depict public figures, actors, and ordinary people. Portraits differ in a realistic manner, which reflects not only the external beauty, but also the inner world of man. Several works are devoted to biblical motifs that have a deep human and philosophical meaning.
Exposition about the Roerich family and its movement
In one of the central halls of the 2nd floor there is an exposition of photographs and paintings dedicated to the Roerich family. These are portraits of spouses, painted by an artist from Barnaul L.R. Tsesyulevich, family photo archive.
There are also stands telling about the Banner of Peace, which became a symbol of philosophy and the achievement of Roerich, who created the first ever treaty between peoples on the protection of cultural monuments, history, art and scientific institutions. The banner, according to Roerich, symbolizes the circle of eternity, consisting of the past, present and future, and demonstrates the merger of religion, science and art.
Ringing the World Bell
On the territory of the museum is the symbolic Peace Bell, installed here in 2009 along with a special Arch, the construction of which was the first in the vast expanses of Russia.
His ringing should awaken in every person everything that is true and beautiful, causing ignorance from him, increasing the vibration of the human soul and calling him out of the darkness of ignorance. Such bells are installed in different parts of the Earth and on certain days they start ringing simultaneously.
In Novosibirsk, the bell rings three times a year: April 22 (Earth Day), September 21 (Peace Day and the Orthodox holiday of the Nativity of the Virgin) and on the last Sunday of June in honor of City Day. On holidays, representatives of the Novosibirsk administration gather here, and employees hold interesting events.
The purpose of the ringing of the Bell is to remind all people on the planet of their community, a call to efforts to protect the world, to preserve beauty and goodness in a common house called planet Earth. In 1971, the “Peace Bell” campaign was established by the UN organization, headed by its Secretary General, who signed an official appeal to all peoples and founded the holiday “International Day of the Earth and the Earth’s Flag”.
In Russia, this action was first held in 1998 at the International Roerich Center in Moscow at the initiative of cosmonaut A.N. Berezovoy, Hero of the USSR.
Chapel
On the territory of the Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk, the chapel of St. Sergius in honor of the spiritual teacher N.K. Roerich - Sergius of Radonezh, to whom the artist dedicated paintings painted in different periods of his life: from youth to the last days.
Museum books and enlightenment
At the Roerich Museum in Novosibirsk, anyone can purchase reproductions of the famous paintings of the Roerichs, his philosophical books, postcards and calendars, CDs and videos, souvenirs, as well as aromatic oils that help maintain harmony of existence and health.
Themed exhibitions dedicated to members of the Roerich family, Eastern religion, Indian and Japanese paintings are regularly held here, as well as works by contemporary artists.
There are also regular concerts at the Museum. Roerich, where soloists of the Novosibirsk Philharmonic or the Opera and Ballet Theater perform, as well as conferences and master classes with the participation of pupils, students, graduate students and teachers of the music school and the Novosibirsk Conservatory.
Active educational activities are conducted: excursions for children, extra-curricular lessons, and exhibitions of reproductions. Every month, on every last Sunday, “Round Tables” are held, where there are meetings of fans of the artist and his family.
