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 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 *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * ...

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, theosoph ...

, 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 ...

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 servi ...

. His paintings of Nehru and Indira Gandhi, adorn the historic Central Parliament Hall in New Delhi. He was married in 1945 to an Indian movie star Devika Rani, who was once married to producer Himanshu Rai 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 nation ...

, 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 Manali may refer to: Places in India * Manali, Himachal Pradesh, * Manali, Chennai, a locality of Chennai * Manali New Town, a locality of Chennai * Manali, Gummidipoondi, a village in Tamil Nadu * Manali River, a river in Kerala People * ...

, 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 Indira Gandhi was unveiled in the

Central Hall Central Hall can refer to: *several current and former Methodist Central Halls in the UK **Methodist Central Hall, Birmingham **Grand Central Hall in Liverpool **Methodist Central Hall, Westminster in London *Central Hall, Melbourne, part of the Aus ...

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.

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 units ...

Order of Madara Horseman Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(Bulgaria) * Awarded Jawaharlal Nehru * Cavalier of the Order of Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria) * Honorary Member of the

USSR Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

* Honorary Doctor of Veliko Tarnovo University (Bulgaria) * Academician of the

Academy of Fine Arts of India An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

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 Svetoslav is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Svetoslav of Croatia (before 997 - 1000), king of Croatia * Svetoslav Dyakov (born 1984), Bulgarian football midfielder * Svetoslav Georgiev (born 1977), Bulgarian football player * ...

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