Snow Maiden and Lel 1921

Nicholas Roerich made this tempera on cardboard artwork, Snow Maiden and Lel, in 1921. The image is an illustration of a scene from a play by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, referencing the folk-tale characters Snegurochka, the snow maiden, and Lel, the shepherd. Roerich’s paintings often drew from Russian folklore, and reveal his interest in pre-modern Slavic culture. Made shortly after the Russian Revolution, this painting demonstrates a resurgence of interest in ethnic Russian identity that followed the collapse of the Tsarist regime. Note the details of the figures’ traditional clothing. The stylized trees and sparse landscape create a sense of timelessness and also aligns with the symbolist movement’s interest in dreams and spiritual realities. To understand this work, we need to look into the history of Russian folk culture, the development of national identity in the early Soviet period, and the history of the Ballets Russes, for which Roerich designed sets and costumes.