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* 2. ROERICH, NICHOLAS (1874-1947)
Castles of Gesar Khan. 1928, signed with the artist's monogram (lower right); numbered, dated, titled (in Russian), and signed by the artist on the reverse "N 1 1928–1929 / Замки Гессар Хана / N.R.".
Tempera on panel, 21 by 27 cm.
60,000-90,000 GBP
Provenance: Collection of the Roerich Museum, New York, 1929–1935.
Collection of Nettie and Louis Horch, New York, until 1957.
Collection of Dr. Carlos Giro, New York, until 2005.
Acquired from the above by the previous owner.
Private collection, USA.
Thence by descent.
Private collection, USA.
Exhibited: Roerich Museum (permanent collection), New York, 1929–1935.
Literature: Roerich Museum catalogue, 8th edition, New York, Roerich Museum, 1930, p. 36, nrs. 917–926.
This important work by Roerich, together with the previous lot, was painted in 1928, at the end of the Central Asia exhibition of 1923 – 1928, which greatly influenced Roerich as an artist and a philosopher. It belongs to the ten-work series “Castles of Gesar Khan,” depicting an imaginary castle of the legendary hero Gesar Khan, who is also a religious figure, a messiah destined to save humanity.
As opposed to a castle high up in the pristine mountains, this alternative vision of the Warrior’s abode is shown nestled amongst small dwellings. Here Roerich places his hero amongst local people, conveying the image that, first and foremost, Gesar Khan is one of them, despite the divine nature of his Path. Here, like in other best examples of Roerich’s works, we can witness the artist’s seamless combination of his artistic genius, and his spiritual vision with his relentless studies of the local culture. The settlement where the castles are set is not some abstract pastiche but a carefully reconstructed landscape.
From 1924 to 1928 Nicholas Roerich led a scientific and artistic expedition, which passed through Sikkim, Kashmir, Ladakh, Chinese Turkestan, then through Siberia and Altai to Mongolia, and finally through Tsaidam, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Trans-Himalayas back to India. During the expedition, Nicholas Roerich created about 500 works, capturing “a pictorial panorama of lands and peoples of Inner Asia”; every possible archaeological and ethnographic detail of ancient rarely-studied cultures.
Castles of Gesar Khan depicted here, in the deep blue palette, set in a local village, looks more real than reality itself, lending authority and authenticity to the Legend.
We are grateful to Gvido Trepsa, Director of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York, for his assistance with cataloguing this work.
Notes on symbols:
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