Nikolai
Roerich
(1874-1947)
(1874-1947)
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Country/Culture
of Origin: Russia
Medium: Paintings
Famous for: Theosophical paintings that could be seen in several museums including a collection in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and in the Latvian National Museum of Art; He founded the Master Institute of the United Arts, the Himalayan Research Institute; He started the Pax Cultura Movement; Nicholas Roerich and his wife were co-founders of the theosophical Agni Yoga Society; He was twice nominated for the Nobel Price.
Artwork can be see at: http://www.frankperry.co.uk/Soul%20Emanations.htm
Waiting (1941), Tempera on Canvas
Roerich used dark colors and a lot of shadows. The clouds on the sky look purple. The rocks and the mountains have a triangular shape. There is a lot of positive and negative space: the sky and the frozen water are well balanced. In the front we see the mountains well lit and therefore have brownish color while the mountains in the back are dark blue. The woman in the middle of the painting is very small compared to the mountains and the sea. Surrounded by nature, a man-made house and a woman stand out from the picture very well.
It communicates the loneliness of the woman who is most likely waiting for her husband to return from the Second World War. The elegiac tone suggests that the woman understands that her husband might be killed but the woman understands that he is fighting for her freedom and future of the whole country.
I like this painting because I grew up listening to the stories about the Second World War told by my grandparents. I know that it was very difficult for the women to wait for their husbands who were dying every day. Those who had their relatives on the front line were always afraid to get a letter informing them of the death of one, so the mail-man created fear.
I like Roerich’s work very much because he had various themes and settings inspiring many people to create art.
Updated On: May 30, 2006