At the end of the 19th century one of the most philosophically important and culturally influential occult movements was Theosophy. Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947) was intrigued by the doctrine disseminated by Helena Petrovna Blavatskaya. He responded to the mytic, poetic and aestetic implications og theosophical thought. The artist of extraordinary Himalayan landscapes who was created more than 7000 painting wrote extensively on the arts and ethics.