NIKOLAI KONSTANTINOVICH RERIKH [ROERICH]
(1874-1947)
NIKOLAI KONSTANTINOVICH RERIKH [ROERICH] (1874-1947)

And We Do Not Fear

Details
NIKOLAI KONSTANTINOVICH RERIKH [ROERICH]
(1874-1947)
And We Do Not Fear
signed with monogram (lower left)
tempera on canvas
28½x40¼in. (72.5x102cm.)
painted in 1922 in New York
Provenance
Roerich Museum, New York
Louis Horch
Baltzar E. Bolling
Then by direct descent
Literature
Roerich Museum Catalogue, (New York, 1924) ill. V.N. Ivanov and E. Gollerbach, Roerich, (Riga, 1939) ill. p. 37 J. Decter, Nicholas Roerich, (London, 1989) ill. p. 124
Exhibited
New York, Roerich Museum, (1930) n. 176 Grand Haven, Michigan, Grand Haven Community Center, Exhibit of Paintings by Nicholas Roerich, (1969)

Lot Essay

On March 24, 1924, the Roerich Museum opened to the public.
"Among the works on display...was the Sancta series. The title of each painting in the series begins with the words And We suggesting not only that the works are connected, but that taken in sequence, they tell a story: And We Are Opening the Gates, And We Do Not Fear, And We are Trying, And We Continue Fishing, And We are Bringing The Light, And We See... The Sancta series relates a spiritual journey. The Travelers on this journey are monks garbed in long, hooded black robes, their faces indistinct. The setting of all the works is Russia...
"And We Do Not Fear depicts a wintry landscape; snow blankets the hills, the rocks, and a northern Russian wooden church in the distance. Two monks stand in the foreground; approaching them is a large brown bear. The painting would resemble a contemplative, Kuinji-esque winter landscape were it not for the background, where a helmet-shaped mountain looms large. The top of the mountain is lavender, suggesting the reflection of the rising or setting sun on the snow. The lower part of the mountain is in shadow and the shapes formed by these shadows are ominous, as if cast by an approaching but unseen evil enemy. The monks, however, show not the least apprehension. The power of the spirit, Roerich seems to be saying, will prevail over the forces of darkness in the end..." J. Decter, Nicholas Roerich, (London, 1989) p. 123

More from IMPORTANT SILVER, OBJECTS OF VERTU AND RUSSIAN WORKS OF ART

View All
View All