Монограмма по левому краю
Монограмма по левому краю
Roerich Museum, New York (1923); Louis & Nettie Horch col., New York (1935); Baltzar Bolling col., USA (1951); Nicholas Roerich Museum (1968)
"The Dreams of Wisdom" suite was created by the artist in the summer of 1920, just when Rabindranath Tagore came to visit the Roerichs. Nikilay Roerich's "The Song of the Morning" was inspired by a very expressive miniature "Naika (heroine) and a Deer" in a melodic style of todi-ragini, conveying a longing for the beloved using the language of picturesque images, that, in the highest aspect, symbolizes the aspiration of the soul to God.
All living things sing their own songs – a mountain stream and the Moon, "the strings of distant worlds sound" and "an unknown singer" "fills my heart with hope".
"A stranger settled near our garden. Every morning, he plays the gusli and sings his song. We sometimes think that he repeats his song, but the stranger's song is always a new one..."
N.K. Roerich. I Notice.
Usually, todi-ragini is performed at night, but apparently, only the pure idea was important for Nikolay Roerich, and we do not see the heroine's sad eyes (as in the miniature); on the contrary, joy and tenderness shine there, and she seems to play with the deer, rather than share her sadness. The artists painted the heroine in a bright red gown; she is taller, and her bend towards the deer is more elegant. A peacock is sitting on the eaves of the house – a frequent hero of Indian miniatures. Far away, as in the miniature, rain clouds float, foreshadowing the monsoon. However, some of them are illuminated by the rays of the rising sun; they are more texturized and, unlike in the miniature, they do not seem threatening us with immediate and severe rain. Instead of the withered fields, as depicted in the miniature, we see in the background a landscape reminiscent of Karelia – a cold-colored blue-grey lake, that seems to reflect a piece of sky free of clouds, and blue green hills, with abundant vegetation.
"Every morning, we are happy to meet the sun. And the spring wind repeats its wafts...".
N.K. Roerich. You Repeat