Deg Fairest wrath of the enemy. Option
Roerich N.K. – Deg Fairest wrath of the enemy. Option
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Location: Collection Joe Dzhagoda. USA.Dallas
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The work "Prechistiy Grad - To the Enemies an Embitterment" is part of a large collection of paintings that Roerich dedicated to the coming war. This work was painted in 1912. Tension was felt around the world. The world powers were in a state of conflict. Nicholas Roerich did not see anything good in the impending war. He was a man of peace and rejected all violence. The First World War, according to Roerich, was to split and destroy the world.
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Description of Nicholas Roerich’s painting "Precious Grad - an embitterment to enemies".
The work "Prechistiy Grad - To the Enemies an Embitterment" is part of a large collection of paintings that Roerich dedicated to the coming war. This work was painted in 1912. Tension was felt around the world. The world powers were in a state of conflict. Nicholas Roerich did not see anything good in the impending war. He was a man of peace and rejected all violence.
The First World War, according to Roerich, was to split and destroy the world. And the artist understood it both literally and figuratively. The master predicted that the war would destroy not only cities, but also the thoughts of people.
This work reflects the whole essence of any war. Nicholas Roerich, when writing the work, gave himself completely to symbolism. Here we see that a large white stone city is surrounded by uncontrollable fire. One gets the impression that this paradisiacal city suddenly found itself in hell. Around the city walls rise mountains drowned in flames. On the tops of the cliffs stand monsters that resemble devils. These dark, winged creature figures represent evil. In their hands they hold huge boulders, which they soon throw at the white hail. In addition to the devils, huge fire-breathing dragons also attack the city. They are the ones who set this terrible fire, which could destroy the shrine. The city is a symbol of purity, sanity, love and peace. Despite the flames raging all around, the city buildings are not destroyed. It is as if they are in opposition to evil.
One cannot help but notice the defender of the "pure city". St. George, the victorious one, rushes through the infernal scorcher to cut down the monsters, to destroy the evil. The artist decided to depict both the city and its defender in the same color to emphasize their unity.
This painting conveys Roerich’s thoughts about war. He believes that good will always triumph over evil, and reason will prevail over stupidity and intemperance.
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The overwhelming visual element is the fire itself. Vivid red and orange hues consume the lower portion of the scene, licking upwards towards the structures. The flames are not depicted as chaotic or uncontrolled; instead, they possess a stylized quality, with clearly defined shapes that suggest both intensity and order. This formalization lends an almost theatrical quality to the destruction.
The background is rendered in muted tones – a grey-blue sky meeting a dark, undefined landmass – which serves to heighten the contrast with the fiery foreground. The lack of human figures within the scene contributes to a sense of detachment and universality; this isnt a depiction of a specific event but rather an allegorical representation of devastation.
Subtextually, the painting seems to explore themes of loss, ruin, and perhaps divine retribution. The meticulous detail afforded to the city’s architecture suggests a civilization of considerable sophistication and prosperity, now brought to utter destruction. The stylized flames could be interpreted as symbolic of wrath or judgment, while the absence of human presence implies a broader commentary on the fragility of human endeavors in the face of overwhelming forces – whether those forces are natural disasters, warfare, or something more abstract. The painting’s aesthetic suggests a deliberate distancing from emotional immediacy, favoring instead an exploration of destruction through formal and symbolic means.