Two paintings by Nicholas Roerich from the collection of the Voronezh Regional Art Museum named after I.N. Kramskoy will be presented at the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow). 

Nikolai Roerich created “The Morning of the Princely Hunt” and “Return from Hunting” in Paris in 1901, and after returning to Russia, the paintings took part in the Spring Exhibition at the Academy of Arts. After the show, the work was acquired by Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna and until 1919 the diptych decorated the estate in Olgino. Later the paintings were transferred to the museum. According to one version, Nicholas Roerich wanted to buy the “Prince’s Hunt” from the Oldenburg family when he was preparing for one of his personal exhibitions. However, the new owners of the paintings refused to sell them.

The diptych “Prince’s Hunt” was included in the “Slavic cycle” of Nicholas Roerich. All the paintings in this series are characterized by decorativeness and a certain ornamental generality, which allows you to focus on the holistic perception of the canvas. In these works, the artist used a muted color scheme.

Both panels became widely known to the Russian and Western public for reproductions in publications of the beginning of the XX century. Moreover, the panel “Morning of the Princes of the Hunt” was printed much more often — sometimes under the simple name “Hunting”, but the second panel, “evening”, was published only twice.

Exhibition “Nicholas Roerich”
(October 10, 2023 — March 10, 2024)

This is a large-scale exhibition project of the Tretyakov Gallery dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947).

The exhibition will include works of art and documentary materials. The audience will see over a hundred paintings and graphic sheets — from the famous masterpieces of early creativity “Messenger” and “Overseas Guests” to the works of the Indian period “Guga Chohan” and “Chenrazi”. Roerich will be presented not only as a “master of mountains” who created easel works, but also as an artist who successfully realized his talent in theater and architecture.

The sensation of the exhibition will be the first demonstration for the public of the magnificent theatrical backdrop made by Nicholas Roerich in 1908 for the ballet Polovtsian Dances, which was staged in Paris as part of the first season of the famous entreprise “The Russian Ballet of Sergei Diaghilev”.

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