I haven't been back to the
Nicholas Roerich Museum since covid (last time was February 1, 2020) and was surprised to find the whole place redesigned. The furniture and mostly Himalayan statuary which made it feel like someone's parlor have been replaced by cases of sketches and drawings. The windows have been covered, too, for the sake of the art, no doubt, but still a shame: the paintings glowed in natural
light, too. Now it feels a little like an underground space, or a space station! (A virtual tour of the old layout is still
viewable.) All that said, Roerich's colors still dazzle like presentiments of another world. The sketches - like these for paintings of religious figures (1924-33) - are delightful. And a mosaic company in 2021 executed designs of Roerich's, including the "Tree of Life" above,
planned for a memorial to his teacher Arkhip Kuindzhi in 1913.
light, too. Now it feels a little like an underground space, or a space station! (A virtual tour of the old layout is still viewable.) All that said, Roerich's colors still dazzle like presentiments of another world. The sketches - like these for paintings of religious figures (1924-33) - are delightful. And a mosaic company in 2021 executed designs of Roerich's, including the "Tree of Life" above, planned for a memorial to his teacher Arkhip Kuindzhi in 1913.