23.10.2020

Nicholas Roerich’s monument opening

A monument to Nicholas Roerich, the first one in Leningrad Region (Russia) was unveiled on 9th October at the birthday of the Great Artist. The bronze bust on a granite base was placed next to Volosovo Art School named after Roerich. The author is Alexey Leonov, a famous sculptor, a member of the Artists' Union of Ukraine, a member of the International Art Fund. ⁠The monument was created and unveiled with the community finance and support of the government of Leningrad Region, the administration of Volosovo region and the management of the Art School. The project was realized by Social—Initiative group The Izvara Friends and NGO Cultural and Educational Center The Izvara 15.

That landmark event happened exactly this day next year when the bronze busts of Nicholas and Helena Roerich by Alexey Leonov as a sculptor were placed on the territory of the Roerichs Estate in the Himalayan Kullu Valley (India). 

The Russian Artist, Scholar, Thinker is considered as Maharishi in India. It means Great man of wisdom, Holy man. But not every Indian admirer of Roerich knows that Indian way of Russian Maharishi started at the land of Volosovo, in Izvara village, in his parents Estate (now it is the Nicholas Roerich State Museum). 

Nicholas Roerich spent his childhood and teenage years in Izvara. He started painting here. His love to mother nature, history, archeology, interest to the East woke up here. The name of the Estate, as Nicholas Roerich wrote, came from the word Isvara (Ishvara) that means God, Supreme Being in Sanskrit. In the old days an Indian Raja lived not far from the Estate and there was a painting on a wall in the house with a mountain at sunrise. As the artist would know later it was Kangchenjunga. 

The Volosovo Art School that is only 10 km from Izvara considers the name of Nicholas Roerich as a symbol of the Master whose art is based on veneration of Beauty, careful attitude to heritage of forefathers and respect of cultural traditions of the whole world. Every year the School organizes a Contest of Musical and Artistic Creativity with International Participation The Color and Sound of Roerich’s Realm. Young artists of Kullu Valley, the students of Helena Roerich Academy of Arts for Children under International Roerich Memorial Trust have participated in the competition for several years. 

The sculptural bronze portraits of Nicholas Roerich, looking alike and unique at the same time placed in India and in Russia will make invisible connection between Kullu Valley and Izvara spaces — special places, cherished for the Russian artist and will give rise to cultural relations between our nations.