Svetoslav or Svyatoslav Nikolayevich Roerich (; 23 October 1904 – 30 January 1993) was a Russian-Indian painter based in India. He was the son of

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

and

Nicholas Roerich Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (), better known as Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, philosopher, and public figure. In his youth he was influenced by Russ ...

and 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 anniversar ...

in Philadelphia in 1926.

Biography

He lived for many years in India where

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

awarded him the International Award and the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

. 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 stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

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

Devika Rani Devika Rani Chaudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Widely acknowledged as the First Lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani is regarded as one of the greatest ...

, who was once married to producer

Himanshu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940) was an Indian actor and film director. Regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, he is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of mov ...

and known as "The First Lady of the Indian Screen". Roerich was born a citizen of the Russian Empire, but became stateless after the Bolshevik Revolution. Resident in India since the 1930s, Roerich became an Indian citizen on 21 March 1960. Roerich died in 1993 at the age of 88 and is buried in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

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

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, 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 (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Government of India, Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameralism, bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok ...

. 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 () was an order of the Soviet Union, and was awarded to persons (including non-citizens), organizations, enterprises, military units, as well as administrative subdivisions of the USSR for accomplishments in s ...

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

Family tree

Notes

References

External links

"SVETOSLAV ROERICH" – A Collective
by S. R. Ramaswamy
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 20th-century Russian historians Soviet painters Soviet historians Indian painters 20th-century Indian historians Russian emigrants to India Naturalised citizens of India Indian people of Russian descent Soviet expatriates in India People from Kullu Roerichism Soviet explorers Indian explorers Soviet orientalists Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi