The most expensive painting ever at a Russian art auction was sold at Bonham’s in London on Wednesday for £7.9m. The purchase of Madonna Laboris, painted in 1931 by artist and philosopher Nikolai Roerich, by an unnamed telephone bidder was the highlight of a day of another record-breaking day for Russian art on the international market. Madonna Laboris is part of a series of works depicting the Great Female Deities of the World, one of Roerich’s spiritual obsessions. It was believed to be lost, until it re-emerged in a private collection in the US. Prior to the auction, Yelena Harbick, director of Russian Art at Bonham’s in New York, hailed the painting as “a major rediscovery of a masterpiece of great significance” and predicted “considerable interest among international collectors". The painting depicts the Virgin Mary inside the blue, glowing walls of heaven, letting down her scarf to help souls climb in. Harbick praised its “balanced and harmonious composition, rich and saturated tones of turquoise, cerulean blues, sea-foam greens with black and fiery-red accents”. (http://calvertjournal.com/articles/show/1060/most-expensive-russian-painting-auction-roerich) The story of the Madonna Laboris is taken from the apocryphal gospel, which Roerich cites as an example in one of his essays: In an impressive and stirring way Christianity has consecrated the legend to the Mother of God: In the transcendental heights of the above-ground world is Heaven, at the gate of which is standing sacristan Apostle Peter. Peter was disturbed and said to the Lord God: 'All day long I watch the gates of Paradise; I do not let anyone in, yet in the morning there are newcomers in Paradise.' And the Lord said: 'Let us make the rounds at night, Peter.' So they went in the night and they saw the Holy Virgin lowering along the wall Her snow-white scarf, up which souls were climbing. Peter took this to heart and wanted to interfere, but the Lord whispered: 'Sh... let be...' (Nicholas Roerich, To Womanhood, 1931) Nicholas Roerich was undoubtedly influenced by Christian Mediæval iconography and its representations of heaven and hell, angels and demons. Madonna Laboris is divided into two parts both in its composition and palette. In Hell, at the bottom of the picture, the sinners are punished for their sins and misdeeds by burning in fire in the dark rocks in the foreground which exude fiery flames. To the left, there is the clearly defined figure of a demon, reminiscent of those painted in Mediæval icons (see the icon of The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Sinai, 12th century). The wall of the heavenly city, behind which the Madonna is standing, dominates the picture, protruding towards the viewer. Its importance is further highlighted by the precipice between the rocks of hell and the wall of heaven, which disappears from view through a light haze, thus dividing heaven and hell. The Madonna stretches a silver thread all the way to the rocks, providing salvation to two lost souls. 'This is the thread, which from ancient times takes the Mother to the lowers layers of the world, in order to help the souls of the men, if only they could take the advantage of this help and reach the Sphere of Light.' (N. Kochergina, Rise Magazine, No. 2 (166), February, 2008). The depiction of the thread reflects the importance of angels and demons in Eastern Orthodox spirituality, a motif from the very earliest Christian images. The offered lot is indicative not only of Roerich's thoughts on salvation, but also his skill as an artist. He manages to convey the divine silver glow of the heavenly temple and the shimmer of the halo of the Madonna, contrasting with the reds and the dark hopeless colors of Hell. Roerich's maxim infuses the painting: the path to Heaven is difficult but possible through culture and inner growth. Painted by Nicholas Roerich in Kulu, India, Madonna Laboris arrived in New York in November 1931, accompanied by Ester Lichtmann. The significance of the work was immediately recognized by the artist's patrons and museum curators and it was illustrated on the cover of the Roerich Museum Bulletin in February 1932. It would appear that by the mid-1930s the painting became part of the Louis Horch art collection and later was acquired by an anonymous private collector, a member of the Rosicrucian Order, a worldwide philosophical and humanistic organization devoted to 'the study of the elusive mysteries of life and the universe'. Nicholas Roerich and Dr. Harvey Spencer Lewis, founder of the American chapter of the Society, were acquainted and Roerich occasionally contributed to the American publications of the Order. Madonna Laboris was received with great enthusiasm by members of the Roerich museum and collectors. Although its presence in the museum was brief and its disappearance into a private collection was swift, many of Roerich's friends were deeply moved by its beauty and its message. Katherine Campbell Stibbe, one of Roerich's closest friends, recalls that she pleaded with him to paint a smaller version for her personally. Roerich finally agreed and in 1934 presented her with a smaller version, changed only slightly, but which reminded her of the original masterpiece which she so fondly remembered. Roerich instructed her to hang it above her bed, thereby keeping it nearby at all times and Ms Campbell Stibbe was happy to comply, keeping the smaller version until her death. The painting is now in the collection of the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York.