In search of primeval Russia: stylistic evolution in the landscapes of Nicholas Roerich, 1897-1914

During the first decade and a half of his career, the Russian painter and stage designer Nicholas Roerich (Nikolai Rerikh) (1874-1947) gained renown for depicting his native land’s ancient past in a manner that was supremely creative yet also historically accurate. However, during this period, which lasted roughly from his graduation from the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts in 1897 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Roerich’s painterly style and overall world-view underwent major changes. Several factors - including a great love for archaeology, strong feelings about the relationship between humankind and the environment, and a deep interest in mysticism and Asian philosophy - caused him to abandon his early programme of faithfully rendering scenes from Russia’s early history. Increasingly, Roerich painted ancient Russia’s landscape metaphorically, interpreting it first as a crossroads of Eurasian cultures, then as a pristine, primeval wilderness in which humanity lived not only in harmony with the natural world but also in a state of spiritual purity. This archaism, rather than any particular ‘Russian-ness’, became his central preoccupation. Ironically, this transformation came about as he completed what is generally considered to be his most famous images of ‘Russia’: his set and costume designs for Stravinsky’s The rite of spring (1913). After the mid-1910s, Roerich - although he never ceased to paint the Russian past - found Asian landscapes to be more conducive symbols for his inner visions and spiritual convictions.