26 November 2014 Russian Art Auctions
26 November 2014
* 47. ROERICH, NICHOLAS (1874-1947)
And We Continue Fishing, from the "Sancta" series .
Tempera on canvas, 71.5 by 101.5 cm.
1,000,000-1,500,000 GBP
Executed c. 1922.
Provenance: Collection of the Roerich Museum, New York, 1923–1935.
Collection of Nettie and Louis Horch, New York, 1935–1951.
Collection of Baltzar Bolling, USA, from 1951.
Then by descent, until 2011.
Important Russian Art, Sotheby’s New York, 1 November 2011, lot 18.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
Private collection, Europe.
Exhibited: Roerich Museum (permanent collection), New York, 1923–1935, No. 178.
Nicholas Roerich Museum (on loan), New York, 2002–2003.
Literature: N. Roerich. List of Paintings, 1917–1924, Autograph, Nicholas Roerich Museum archive. No. 6 in year 1922.
Roerich, New York, Corona Mundi, 1924, plate [43], illustrated.
F. Grant et al., Roerich. Himalaya. A Monograph, New York, Brentano’s, 1926, p. 199, listed.
Roerich Museum Catalogue, New York, 1930, No.178, listed.
A. Yaremenko, Nicholai Konstantinovich Roerich. His Life and Creations During the Past Forty Years, 1889–1929, New York, Central Book Trading Co., 1931, p. 38, listed, plate 80, illustrated.
B.D. Conlan, Roerich, Riga, The Roerich Museum, 1939, p.43, illustrated.
V. Ivanov and E. Gollerbach, Rerikh, Riga, Rēriha muzejs, 1939, p.53, illustrated.
J. Decter, Nicholas Roerich. The Life and Art of a Russian Master, New York, 1989, p.123, mentioned in the text.
Nicholas Roerich: konstnär, fredsaktivist, arkeolog, poet, mystiker, Nicholas Roerich Museum, The Hague, 2007, No. 327, illustrated.
Nicholas Roerich. In 2 volumes, vol. 1, Samara, Agni Publishing House, Moscow, Fine Arts Academy Gallery, Zurich, Kunstberatung, 2008, p. 292, illustrated.
And We Continue Fishing is one of the six paintings that comprise Sancta, the most important pre-Himalaya series in the Nicholas Roerich’s artistic career. This series encapsulates the most intense soul-searching period in his life, the years 1914 1922, during which he witnessed the destruction of Europe, the collapse of his country, and an overall decline of culture and humanistic principles. He actively sought answers, both for himself and humanity, as to what could be done to survive and, eventually, rebuild Russia and the world for the common good. By 1922, he had a clear vision of what values humankind needed to pull itself out of chaos. His vision comes through in Sancta.
The main characters throughout the Sancta series are ascetics and monks, expressing Roerich’s belief in the predominance of the spirit. At the same time they are involved in various everyday activities. In And We Continue Fishing, the monks are hard at work to provide meals for their communal table. While the values of contemplation, non-violence, and harmony with nature are clearly present, the artist also extols the virtues of everyday work and cooperation. As usual in Roerich’s work, this painting comprises several layers of symbolism. In a Biblical sense, Fishing refers to Jesus summoning two fishermen, saying to his future disciples: “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Christ’s presence in the painting is referenced by the sun. To emphasize the universally spiritual message, Roerich offers a subtle nod to Raphael’s The Miraculous Draught of Fishes, one of the cartoons that the Renaissance artist made for the Sistine Chapel. This reference attracts a whole range of Renaissance values which helped humanity to cast off the cultural stalemate of the Middle Ages. Despite the heavy symbolism, the painting breathes with lightness and clarity. The minimal composition calls for a return to a simpler way of life. The expanses of sky and water allude to the world in its totality while the sparsely outlined patches of land – the distinct shapes of the Ladoga Lake islands – reveal that the heart of the artist is still with his country and his people. The monks might as well have stepped out of one of Russia’s renowned northern monasteries, Valaam or Solovki.
All six paintings in Sancta stayed together in the first Roerich Museum (1923–1935). Today, four of them are in the collection of the International Centre of the Roerichs in Moscow, while the present lot, as well as And We Do Not Fear, are in private hands. For a savvy collector, this is a unique opportunity to enhance his collection with one of the most significant works both philosophically and stylistically of the first half of Roerich’s artistic career.
We are grateful to Gvido Trepša, Senior Researcher at the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York, for catalogue information.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.