Svetoslav Nikolaevich Roerich (russian: Светослáв or Святослáв Никола́евич Рéрих; 23 October 1904 – 30 January 1993) was a Russian painter based in India. He was the son of Helena and

Nicholas Roerich Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (russian: link=no, Никола́й Константи́нович Ре́рих), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophi ...

, studied from a young age under his father's tutelage. He studied architecture in England in 1919 and entered Columbia University's school of architecture in 1920. He won the Grand Prix of the

Sesquicentennial Exposition The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary o ...

in Philadelphia in 1926.

Biography

He lived for many years in India where

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

awarded him the International Award and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

. His paintings of Nehru and

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, adorn the historic Central Parliament Hall in New Delhi. He was married in 1945 to an Indian movie star

Devika Rani Devika Rani Choudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who was active in Hindi films during the 1930s and 1940s. Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani ha ...

, who was once married to producer

Himanshu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940), one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of movies, including ''Goddess'' (1922), ''The Light of Asia ...

and known as "The First Lady of the Indian Screen". Roerich died in 1993 at the age of 88 and is buried in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, India. He was named an Honorary Academician of the Art Academy of the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, and was an honorary member of the Bulgarian Academy of Art. He had a large plantation on the outskirts of Bangalore, called Tataguni, on Kanakpura road. He and Devika Rani lived here; after their respective deaths in August 2011, the Government of Karnataka acquired the estate after the Supreme Court of India passed the verdict in favour of them.. Roerich family's residence in Manali, India, is now home for a gallery of paintings. It is managed by the International Roerich Trust and has been named Roerich Heritage Museum. The gallery was founded by Svetoslav Roerich in 1962.

Work

Roerich mainly painted landscapes and portraits. His paintings were first exhibited in India in 1936–1937 His portrait of

was unveiled in the Central Hall of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the R ...

. European art historians have considered his paintings to be influenced by

expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

Honours and awards

(India) *

Order of Friendship of Peoples The Order of Friendship of Peoples (russian: oрден Дружбы народов, translit=orden Druzhby narodov) was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military unit ...

* Order of Madara Horseman (Bulgaria) * Awarded Jawaharlal Nehru * Cavalier of the

Order of Cyril and Methodius The Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius is an award conferred by the Republic of Bulgaria. History It has had three incarnations : * first on 18 May 1909 by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, * second on 13 December 1950 by the People's Republic of Bulga ...

(Bulgaria) * Honorary Member of the USSR Academy of Arts * Honorary Doctor of

Veliko Tarnovo University The St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo ( Bulgarian ''Великотърновски университет „Св. св. Кирил и Методий“'') is a Bulgarian university based in Veliko Tarnovo. History ...

(Bulgaria) * Academician of the Academy of Fine Arts of India

References

External links

"SVETOSLAV ROERICH" – A Collective
by

S. R. Ramaswamy Sondekoppa Ramachandrasastri Ramaswamy is an Indian writer, journalist, biographer, social activist and environmentalist. He has authored more than 50 books and thousand articles both in Kannada and English. He is recipient of the "Karnataka St ...

Rare Photographs of Svetoslav Roerich with World LeadersInternational Roerich Memorial Trust
(India) {{DEFAULTSORT:Roerich, Svetoslav 1904 births 1993 deaths Painters from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Svetoslav Baltic German people from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian painters Soviet painters Soviet historians Soviet expatriates in India People from Kullu Roerichism Soviet explorers Soviet orientalists Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi

Biography

Work

Honours and awards

See also

References

External links