Nicholas Roerich Artist: Mastering Color and Myth in Art
Explore the profound impact of Nicholas Roerich’s artistry and innovative spirit, shaping culture and spirituality. Discover his legacy in our article.
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Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947) Himalayan Peaks with Crimson Clouds, c. 1930's
Dimensions
33 × 40 cm | 13 × 15.7 in
Medium
Tempera on Cardboard
Live auction
Saturday 17 October 2026, 17:00 CEST
Starts in
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s
Starting at
10,000 €
Estimate 20,000 – 30,000 €
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Details
Signed with the artist’s monogram (lower right).
Sizes:
Frame: 50 x 57.5
Artwork: 33 × 40 cm | 13 × 15.7 in
Snow peaks rise above a crimson cloud, beyond a violet ridge and the deep folds of a Himalayan valley. This small tempera belongs to the extensive body of Himalayan mountain paintings that occupied Nicholas Roerich from the mid-1920s onward and continued after he settled in the Kullu Valley at the end of 1928.
Working in tempera on cardboard, a medium particularly suited to the clear, matte surfaces of his mature work, Roerich repeatedly returned to the changing light, colour and contours of the high ranges. The handling here is characteristic: the mountain forms are built from broad, interlocking planes, the snow picked out in pale, chalky highlights, while the sky is reduced to an almost abstract band of intense colour. The work bears the artist’s characteristic monogram at lower right.
Compact in scale yet highly resolved in composition, works of this kind distil Roerich’s vision of the Himalayas into concentrated arrangements of colour and form. For Roerich, the mountains were more than a landscape motif. Throughout his work and writings, the Himalayas became closely associated with ideas of transcendence, spiritual aspiration and the meeting of the earthly and the sublime.
Provenance
Reportedly formerly in the collection of Louis L. Horch, New York, and thereafter by descent in a private family collection, New York.
Private collection, Germany, since the 1990s.
Acquired from the above by the present owner in the 2010s.
Condition Report
Fair condition: the board is cracked through at the lower right corner (a split of about 6–7 cm, unrepaired but stable) and the upper-left part of the sky is thin and abraded; otherwise untouched, with no retouching in normal or ultraviolet light, the matte tempera surface well bonded and the peaks and crimson clouds fully intact; wear and small losses to the edges and corners of the board. Please contact us to request a detailed Condition Report.
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Packed as size S (up to 60 × 50 cm) · 57.5 × 50 cm framed
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Nicholas Roerich
Russian
(1874-1947)
Nicholas Roerich was a Russian painter, writer, philosopher, and mystic, born in 1874 in Saint Petersburg. Celebrated for his visionary landscapes and symbolic works, Roerich combined artistic mastery with spiritual exploration, creating a unique body of work inspired by Russian folklore, Himalayan vistas, and Eastern philosophy. Trained at the Imperial Academy of Arts, he was also active in the cultural preservation movement and contributed significantly to the Roerich Pact for the protection of cultural heritage.
During the 1920s and 1930s, Roerich led scientific expeditions through Central Asia and settled in the Kullu Valley, India, where his art entered its most transcendent phase. His Himalayan paintings — glowing with mysticism and peace — became visual prayers for humanity. A figure revered both in Russia and abroad, Roerich left behind more than 7,000 works and an enduring legacy as a bridge between East and West, art and spirit.
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