“...One of the halls of the permanent exhibition of paintings in the premises of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts (38, Bolshaya Morskaya Street) is currently occupied by an extremely interesting exhibition of sketches and paintings of the Russian antiquity.

The author of the picture is N. K. Roerich, who is well acquainted with Russian archeology, spent the past summer to visit the places in the north and west of Russia, where archaeological monuments have been preserved. With wide, bold strokes, the artist depicted on canvas the ancient walls and battle towers, that once protected the towns and monasteries against enemies, views of churches and monasteries, doors, gates, towers and so on. The works of the artist N. K. Roerich show to the viewer the modern state of the famous Ipatievsky Monastery in Kostroma with its huge walls, and the majestic towers of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, as well as the features of the painting in the ancient church of Saint John the Baptist in the city of Yaroslavl.”

(Studies of the Russian Antiquity. Peterburgsky Listok Newspaper. 1903. December 31 / 1904. January 13. No. 359.)