Description of the painting by Nicholas Roerich “Herald”

Description of the painting by Nicholas Roerich Herald

A strikingly beautiful picture created in the technique using a tempera palette of colors was created by the artist in 1924. Subsequently, in 1925, in Adyar, he presented her to the Theosophical Society in the person of its founder – a unique Russian woman – Blavatsky Elena Petrovna. She possessed an unusually high degree of cultural and moral education, and the refined beauty of the ideals of the Renaissance.

The canvas depicts a Buddhist temple, immersed through a slightly open door into the dawn rays of the sun, and meeting the Messenger, a beautiful woman in oriental attire.

Who is this strange traveler? What news did he bring? Ignorance and the first, shook the mind, feelings make the heart beat even faster in anticipation of the discovery of the secrets of such an unexpected guest. After all, the news can be completely unpredictable and come from everywhere, warning or shielding from some events, which was heard by a woman.

So, the symbolic gesture of the right hand of a man, meaning in Buddhism the wisdom of self-improvement and of whom an important event, was repeatedly displayed in the works of Roerich. The theme of the messenger and messenger, who carried important news, was one of the priority topics in writing pictures.

The predominance of violet-greenish shades in the picture, combined with the golden hues of the sun’s rays, characterize the pressurized and anxious situation of an unexpected visit, and the woman’s soft pink robe softens and eliminates the anxiety. Her image symbolizes intuition and the image of the savior, and finds a similarity with the image of Helena Blavatsky, who revealed the meaning of Being in her works, thus being majestically solemn Messenger. The image of Buddha symbolizes peace of mind, peace and tranquility.


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Description of the painting by Nicholas Roerich “Herald”