Svetoslav Roerich

{{Infobox person

| name = Svetoslav Roerich

| caption = AI-upscaled version of a photograph of Roerich from 1945

| image = Artist Svetoslav Roerich.jpg

| signature = Svetoslav Roerich's signature.jpg

| signature_size = 220px

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1904|10|23}}

| birth_place = Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire

| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1993|01|30|1904|10|23}}

| death_place = Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

| resting_place = Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

| nationality = {{ubl|Russian {{small|(1904–1917)}}|Stateless {{small|(1917–1960)}}|Indian {{small|(1960–1993)}}}}

| spouse = Devika Rani (1945–1993)

| parents = {{ubl|Nicholas Roerich|Helena Roerich}}

}}

Svetoslav or Svyatoslav Nikolayevich Roerich{{efn|Also spelled Rerikh}} ({{langx|ru|Святослав Николаевич Рерих}}; 23 October 1904 – 30 January 1993) was a Russian-Indian painter based in India. He was the son of Helena and Nicholas Roerich and studied from a young age under his father's tutelage.{{cite book |last2=Aunovsky |first2=O. K. |last1=Skumin |author-link=Victor Skumin |first1=V. A. |year=1995 |script-title=ru: Светоносцы (о семье Рерихов) |trans-title=The Bringers of the Light (The story of the Roerich family). |location=Novocheboksarsk |publisher=TEROS |url=http://biblmdkz.ru/svet.html |isbn=5-88167-004-3 |language=ru |access-date=16 January 2015 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824010907/http://biblmdkz.ru/svet.html |archive-date=24 August 2017 |df=dmy-all }} He studied architecture in England in 1919 and entered Columbia University's school of architecture in 1920. He won the Grand Prix of the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1926.

Biography

File:Residence of Svetoslav Roerich.JPG

He lived for many years in India where Jawaharlal Nehru awarded him the International Award and the Padma Bhushan. His paintings of Nehru and Indira Gandhi, adorn the historic Central Parliament Hall in New Delhi. He was married in 1945 to an Indian movie star Devika Rani, who was once married to producer Himanshu Rai and known as "The First Lady of the Indian Screen". Roerich was born a citizen of the Russian Empire, but became stateless after the Bolshevik Revolution. Resident in India since the 1930s, Roerich became an Indian citizen on 21 March 1960.{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/magazine/1056492/why-a-celebrated-russian-artist-chose-to-become-an-indian-citizen|title=Why a celebrated Russian artist chose to become an Indian citizen|website=scroll.in|date=16 September 2023 |access-date=13 May 2024 }} Roerich died in 1993 at the age of 88 and is buried in Bangalore, India.{{Cite web|url=https://shapiroauctions.com/auctions/Auction-06-10-2018/179-svetoslav-nikolaevich-roerich-russian-1904-1993|title=SVETOSLAV NIKOLAEVICH ROERICH (RUSSIAN-INDIAN 1904–1993)|website=shapiroauctions.com}}

He was named an Honorary Academician of the Art Academy of the USSR, and was an honorary member of the Bulgarian Academy of Art.

He had a large plantation on the outskirts of Bangalore, called Tataguni, on Kanakpura road. He and Devika Rani lived here; after their respective deaths in August 2011, the Government of Karnataka acquired the estate after the Supreme Court of India passed the verdict in favour of them.

Roerich family's residence in Manali, India, is now home for a gallery of paintings. It is managed by the International Roerich Trust and has been named Roerich Heritage Museum. The gallery was founded by Svetoslav Roerich in 1962.[http://www.roerich-museum.ru/eng International Centre of the Roerichs]

Work

Roerich mainly painted landscapes and portraits.{{Cite web|url=http://www.roerich.kar.nic.in/svetoslav_roerich.htm|title=Untitled Document|website=www.roerich.kar.nic.in}}

His paintings were first exhibited in India in 1936–1937 {{Cite web|url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041024/spectrum/main4.htm|title=The Sunday Tribune – Spectrum|website=www.tribuneindia.com}}

His portrait of Indira Gandhi was unveiled in the Central Hall of the Parliament of India.{{Cite web|url=https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/picture_gallery/smt_indira.asp|title=Rajya Sabha|website=rajyasabha.nic.in}}

European art historians have considered his paintings to be influenced by expressionism.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Honours and awards

File:RR5110-0057R.gif

File:S.Roerich Stamp.jpg

File:Svetoslav_Roerich_2004_stamp_of_India.jpg

Padma Bhushan (India) {{small|(1961)}}{{cite web | url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf | title=Padma Awards | publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India | date=2015 | access-date=21 July 2015}}
Order of Friendship of Peoples
Order of Madara Horseman (Bulgaria)
Awarded Jawaharlal Nehru
Cavalier of the Order of Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria)
Honorary Member of the USSR Academy of Arts
Honorary Doctor of Veliko Tarnovo University (Bulgaria)
Academician of the Academy of Fine Arts of India

Family tree

Notes

References

External links

[http://www.srikanta-sastri.org/s-r-ramaswamy/4581298747 "SVETOSLAV ROERICH" – A Collective] by S. R. Ramaswamy
[http://www.itihasa.in/svetoslav-roerich/4582054624 Rare Photographs of Svetoslav Roerich with World Leaders]
[http://irmtkullu.com/the-roerich-family/svetoslav-roerich/ International Roerich Memorial Trust] (India)

Category:1904 births

Category:1993 deaths

Category:Painters from Saint Petersburg

Category:People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd

Svetoslav

Category:Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire

Category:20th-century Russian painters

Category:20th-century Russian historians

Category:Soviet painters

Category:Soviet historians

Category:Indian painters

Category:20th-century Indian historians