Lot 35: Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich (Russian, 1904-1993) A view of the Himalayas

A view of the Himalayas
signed with monogram (lower right)
tempera on board
32 x 50cm (12 5/8 x 19 11/16in).

Provenance:
Gifted by students of Yelena Ivanovna Roerich to a founder of an Agni Yoga centre which was dedicated to perpetuating the principles of that Trans-Himalayan spiritual tradition;
Private American Collection.

The East is as much present in the corpus of work of Svyatoslav Roerich as it is in that of his father, Nikolai. The indubitable similarity in style between father and son is not so much an 'inheritance' as the promotion of a 'cultural manifesto'. When his father died in 1947, Svyatoslav decided to remain at the family's Indian home in Naggar, Kulu. The Roerich family had based themselves in India from 1923, and circa 1928 established Urusvati, a Himalayan Research institute which fostered learning links with scientists from India and the West, as well as with Tibetan lamas. The slogan 'Peace through Culture' was the international message developed by the family, underlined by the philosophy that the absolutes of Beauty and Art permeate all aspects of life and when acknowledged, could inspire mankind to be custodians of a better world.

The offered lot illustrates this philosophy of unity in the use of colour. The artist uses notes of blue throughout the composition, investing the work with depth as well as with a sense of the boundlessness of the horizon.