There will be few in India who have not seen a Nicholas Roerich masterpiece — they adorn the mineral water bottles of a popular brand — but fewer still who know the true depth of this Russian mystic-polymath’s erudition. The artist was also a trained archaeologist and a lawyer and had been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice. THE VISIONARY ART OF NICHOLAS ROERICH: A MESSENGER OF BEAUTY (Park Street, Rs 1,999) by Jacqueline Decter can go a long way towards filling these gaps in knowledge.
To Roerich, art and spirituality were inseparable. He was on a lifelong quest to find his own Shangri-La. His mountainscapes of the majestic Himalayas where he sought refuge after leaving Russia are often reflections of his journeys, literal and inward. In many works, great towering spires of rock point towards the heavens, while clouds form dreamy, billowing puffs that drift out into endless space. His expressionist style is made more vivid by the tropical shades of India that fascinated him. This book is not just about his mountainscapes; it also documents his evolution both as an artist and a mystic.
