MOSCOW, October 10. The Tretyakov Gallery opened an exhibition “Nicholas Roerich” in honor of the 150th anniversary of his birth. The exhibition of the artist’s works was the first in the State Tretyakov Gallery in 65 years, noted Deputy General Director for Scientific Work Tatyana Karpova.
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“The master’s legacy is more relevant than ever: the ideas of uniting East and West. He himself was a kind of bridge between Asian and European civilizations. The artist did a lot to make the culture of the East more understandable to Westerners. The exhibition corresponds to the anniversary, it is very representative: more than 100 works from 18 museums and archives of the State Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian State Historical Archive are on display,” said Karpova.
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The exhibition of Roerich's works was designed in the form of two large spaces. One is dedicated to Russia, the other to the East, said exhibition architect Evgeniy Ass.
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“The halls include two large sections: Russian and Eastern periods of Roerich’s work. The first room is designed in the form of a rectangle, based on a cross, in green tones. The second hall has a circular shape, which is based on the Dharmachakra — the wheel of Samsara, and is decorated in yellow,” Ass emphasized.
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Over 100 paintings and sketches were selected from more than five thousand works that make up Roerich’s legacy, noted exhibition curator Vladimir Nikishin.
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"We divided the exhibition into several sections, by topic. It opens with the section “The Beginning of Rus',” then the section on holiness, then ancient Russian architecture and architecture. In addition, Roerich was also successful as a theater decorator; he worked with many directors. At the exhibition you can see his sketches for four productions: the ballet “The Rite of Spring” and Stravinsky, performance based on the play «Peer Gynt» Ibsen on the stage of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, the operas «Prince Igor» Borodin and «Snegurochka» Rimsky-Korsakov,” said Nikishin.
A special exhibit of the exhibition, its organizers call the curtain (backdrop) for the legendary “Polovtsian Dances,” which Diaghilev presented in 1909 in Paris. 
He was in a private collection in London, where employees of the State Tretyakov Gallery came. To assess the state of preservation, the owners rented a gymnasium to unroll the canvas, said the chief curator of the gallery, Tatyana Gorodkova.
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"The surface area of the curtain is 230 square meters. It was acquired in 2022. When the decision was made, the issue of restoration was seriously discussed at the Tretyakov Gallery. Because we are a classic art gallery, and restoring a fabric canvas is a complex process that requires a fundamentally different approach in terms of both storage and display. The curtain was used in the theater for many years, withstood about two thousand productions, and traveled not only across Europe, but throughout the world. Therefore, it was in very poor condition,” noted Gorodkova.
Gallery employees developed a special design consisting of two shafts and an electric motor. Thus, the canvas can be in a horizontal position, which is important for restoring the masterpiece.
Specialists have completed only the first stage of restoration, which already allows the curtain to be put up for viewing. Until January 14, while the exposition is open, experts will consider the details of further steps to preserve the unique exhibit.