Vasily Vereshchagin
Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka
During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the artist Vasily Vereshchagin served in the Balkans. He was a kind of war reporter: he made pencil sketches and wrote sketches on the battlefields. Upon his return to Russia, the painter used these materials to create paintings of the Balkan series.
"It is seen, it is observed"
Vasily Vereshchagin was a direct participant in the events of the Russian-Turkish war. During the difficult winter passage through the Balkans and the battles for Shipka, the artist made sketches in a travel album. In the future, he wanted to recreate the details of the battle scenes most accurately, so he collected uniforms, weapons, and military household items on the battlefields. Later, while working on the canvas, Vereshchagin twice traveled to Bulgaria, to the places of past battles.
When the French painter Jean Louis Ernest Meissonier saw the painting “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka, "he exclaimed:" This is seen, this is observed!
Non-parade war of Vasily Vereshchagin
While working on the paintings of the Balkan series, Vasily Vereshchagin deviated from the canons of battle painters: he did not paint brave soldiers on the battlefields and ceremonial victory marches. The heroes of his canvases were the wounded at overcrowded dressing stations and priests serving memorial services for the dead, captured soldiers and tired, frozen guards.
The painter called the war "a great injustice." He said: “In front of me, as in front of an artist, there is a war, and I beat it as much as I have the strength, I beat it on a grand scale and without mercy.”
Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka. Fragment
Victory at Shipka and General Skobelev
The painting “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka is the only one in the Balkan series where Vereshchagin captured the joy of victory. The attention of the viewer is attracted by a dynamic scene at the edge of the canvas. Against the background of Mount St. Nicholas, General Skobelev is depicted on a white horse. Skobelev congratulates the soldiers on the victory. Behind him are officers, among them Vasily Vereshchagin painted himself (with a banner on a bay horse).
In his memoirs, the painter recalled these moments of jubilation: “Skobelev suddenly gave the spurs to the horse and rushed off so that we could hardly keep up with him. Raising his cap high above his head, he shouted in his sonorous voice: “In the name of the Fatherland, in the name of the sovereign, thank you, brothers!” Tears were in his eyes. It is difficult to convey in words the delight of the soldiers: all the hats flew up, and again and again, higher and higher - hurray! Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! without end. I then painted this picture.
Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka. Fragment
Expressive details
Vasily Vereshchagin painted two paintings “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka", one of them is stored in the Tretyakov Gallery, the second - in the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg. The compositions of the canvases are almost the same: on foreground- the wounded and killed, behind - officers and soldiers celebrating the victory. However, on the canvas of the Tretyakov Gallery, the foreground is unloaded, naturalistic colors have given way to light transparent tones. The artist rewrote some of the figures: the pose of the deceased Russian soldier with arms thrown up became even more unnatural and dramatic. These accents made the canvas concise and at the same time more expressive.
Shipka-Sheinovo (Skobelev near Shipka). Vasily Vereshchagin. 1883-1888. State Russian Museum
Restrained colors
In the painting “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka" is dominated by sterile White color. The skillful colorist Vasily Vereshchagin painted all the Balkan canvases in restrained tones, in contrast to bright pictures from Turkestan and India. This is connected both with military subjects, which the artist tried to depict in all their ugliness, and with the scene of action. The bright sun of Agra and piercing blue sky The Himalayas were replaced by the cloudy weather of the Balkans, rich landscapes - withered grass and snow, the exotic costumes of the southerners were replaced by military uniform soldiers and officers.
Working with the color of the paintings of the Balkan series, Vereshchagin sought to find suitable natural lighting - without bright sunlight, uniform and constant throughout the day. In a house near Paris, the artist built two workshops. During the winter, he worked indoors with a glass wall. And the design of the open summer workshop was so original that newspapers wrote about it: “Imagine a huge baggage car, open on both sides from top to bottom and standing with wheels on rails, describing a circle the size of a large arena in a circus. The canvas of this original railway surrounded by a fence. Inside the wagon there is a handle, through which one person can easily set in motion the entire huge temple and make a whole tour along the rails. Vereshchagin moved the workshop, choosing the right light for work, depending on the time of day and weather.
Painting by V. V. Vereshchagin “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka" was written in 1878 and belongs to the Balkan series of paintings by the artist. In the picture, Vereshchagin shows what a huge price the victory over the enemy in the Russian-Turkish war in the mountains of Bulgaria was given to the Russian army.
The canvas depicts a parade dedicated to the victory of the Russians over the Turks near the settlements of Shipka and Sheinovo in 1877. Vereshchagin personally witnessed this event. We see a long line of Russian soldiers and riders swiftly racing along it. In front of his retinue, General M. D. Skobelev himself rushes on a white horse.
Raising his hand in greeting, he congratulates the warriors on their victory. In response to the commander’s congratulations, a soldier’s “hurray!” and soldiers' caps fly up.
In the foreground of the canvas is a snow-covered field with the frozen corpses of dead soldiers. The artist deliberately exacerbates the dramatic tension by showing a huge battlefield next to the victory celebration scene, where the uncleaned corpses of soldiers who laid down their lives for this victory lie. The hymn to the heroism of Russian soldiers sounds in the picture along with a harsh narrative of the suffering and death of people.
In the canvas “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka "skill is visible great artist. The composition of the canvas seems very natural. Vereshchagin achieves the accuracy of the drawing, uses a wide and free technique of writing, rich colors. Without undue attention to detail, the artist achieves realism and vitality of the image.
In his picture, Vereshchagin remains true to the harsh truth of life. He does not glorify an individual, but reminds the viewer of the main heroes of the war - ordinary soldiers, shows their unparalleled heroism and selflessness.
In addition to describing the painting by V.V. Vereshchagin “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka”, our website contains many other descriptions of paintings by various artists, which can be used both in preparation for writing an essay on a painting, and simply for a more complete acquaintance with the work of famous masters of the past.
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10 scariest paintings by the artist
Vasily Vereshchagin studied the war so well that he could write an entire encyclopedia about it. And he painted - with paints on canvas. There are almost no attacks, maneuvers and pompous parades in his paintings. But there is a lot of such a war, which is not customary to talk about. The artist himself once said: “I decided to observe the war in various types and convey it truthfully. The facts transferred to the canvas without embellishment should speak eloquently for themselves. Today, the creative message of Vereshchagin is so relevant that historical and social parallels make you uncomfortable. On the eve of the artist's anniversary, we selected the 10 most scary pictures and told how to read them correctly.
"Present Trophies"
1872 Oil on canvas. 240×171 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery.
Graceful oriental columns, a sun-drenched courtyard, elegant clothes of those gathered - what is terrible in this picture? The very essence of what is happening. In a recent battle, the soldiers of the emir demonstrated courage and valor. They have just arrived at the court with a valuable trophy. Alas, this is not gold and not captured banners: at the feet of the eastern sovereign, the severed heads of "infidels" - Russian soldiers who lost in the battle - are piled in a heap. Darkened faces in gore, the disgusting stench of decay, from which those gathered cover themselves with the sleeves of their robes - this is how a sweet victory looks like. Such is the moment of glory of the victorious army. One of the heads rolled up to the Emir's foot, and he thoughtfully examines the face of a dead enemy. The painting “Representing Trophies” was included in the “Barbarians” cycle, which Vereshchagin wrote after returning from Turkestan, when the Emir of Bukhara declared jihad on Russia - a holy war. But can war be sacred when there are severed heads under your feet?
"Triumph"
1872 Oil on canvas. 195.5 × 257 cm. The State Tretyakov Gallery.
Cycle "Barbarians", Turkestan series
A crowd gathered in the square in front of the majestic Sherdor Madrasah in Samarkand. The white-clad mullah in the center delivers a sermon. People are celebrating, but what? The answer becomes obvious if you look closely. The heads of soldiers stick out on the poles - an honorary trophy of the emir's army, put on public display. They could not be noticed at all against the background of multi-colored ornaments flooded with bright sun. And yet they are here, watching the crowd, which feasts literally on the bones. On the frame is the inscription: “So commands God! There is no God but God."
"The Suppression of the Indian Rebellion by the British"
1884 Location unknown.
Series "Three Executions"
This lost painting has the traditional interpretation of English soldiers executing rebels during India's struggle for independence from british empire. Rebels are tied to the muzzle of cannons. A volley is about to be heard and the unfortunate will be blown to pieces. The execution, which was called the "devil's wind", was cruel not only in the physical sense. For the deeply religious population of India, it was more terrible than death to "appear before the supreme judge in an incomplete, tormented form, without a head, without hands, with a lack of members." It is difficult to come up with a more humiliating reprisal, given the caste nature of Indian society: the body parts collected after the execution were buried all together, en masse. After Vereshchagin painted this canvas, the British accused him of espionage. However, he accurately conveyed his idea: a colonial war, like any other, makes some of them masters, and others - slaves.
“Everything is calm on Shipka”, triptych
1878–1879 Canvas, oil. Private collections, Kostroma State United Art Museum.
Balkan series
Three paintings, united by one plot, tell about the last hours of the life of an ordinary soldier during the Russian-Turkish war (1877–1878). Despite the snowstorm and severe cold, he keeps his post on the captured Shipka Pass until his last breath: in the third picture, only a snowdrift and the tip of a bayonet sticking out from under the snow remain from him. It seems that the command simply forgot about him and left him to be torn apart by the elements. This triptych tells about the dishonesty and irresponsibility of the army leaders, who diligently concealed the real state of affairs. The war here is not in beautiful battle scenes and eyes burning with heroism, but in the unforgivable carelessness of commanders who do not care about their people. The Russian soldiers guarding the pass were not only bombarded daily by the Turks. Often they simply froze in the snow, as they did not have the proper equipment. During the period from September to December 1877, 700 people were out of action, wounded and killed, and more than 9,000 sick. But did the generals care about that? “Everything is calm on Shipka,” the commanders regularly reported to the capital.
"Shipka - Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka
1878–1879 Canvas, oil. 147×299 cm State Tretyakov Gallery.
Balkan series
The battle for the Shipka Pass took place on January 9, 1878 and brought the long-awaited victory to the Russian army. The exhausting defense is finally over, and it's time for the heroes to rejoice. General Skobelev circles the ranks of survivors with congratulations, and the soldiers joyfully toss their hats into the air. A white horse gallops briskly, a victorious banner flutters. But what is the price of this victory? The fun and joy of the winners are not so important, since dozens of bloodied and mutilated bodies - Russian and Turkish soldiers - were in the foreground. Unlike their brothers, they will forever remain in the snow near Shipka. This canvas by Vereshchagin was included in the Balkan series dedicated to the events of the Russian-Turkish war. He described his work on the cycle as follows: “You start writing, you burst into tears, you quit ... You can’t see anything behind the tears ...”
"Before the attack. Under Plevna"
1881 Oil on canvas. 179×401 cm State Tretyakov Gallery.
Balkan series
The command gave the order to storm Plevna. The army is ready to start the offensive. Emperor Alexander II peers into the distance, adjutants examine the enemy through binoculars. Paradoxically, commanders almost never participate in combat. They only give orders, sending to death ordinary people. In this picture of Vereshchagin, the leaders of the army cannot even really see what is happening. They are visually separated from the troops and look out "from around the corner." On the day of the attack, the emperor watched the battle from the "snack mountain" - a hill where he and his staff celebrated name days and raised glasses of champagne "for the health of those who are now fighting there." After the battle, the artist returned to this place: “Everywhere there are piles of grenade fragments, bones of soldiers forgotten during burial. Only on one mountain there are no human bones, no pieces of cast iron, but corks and fragments of champagne bottles are still lying there - no kidding.
"After the attack. Dressing station near Plevna "
1878–1881 Canvas, oil. 183×402 cm State Tretyakov Gallery.
Balkan series
The third assault on Plevna turned out to be a complete failure - the Russian army lost about 13,000 people and was forced to temporarily retreat. Sergei Vereshchagin, the artist's brother, also died in the battle. Vasily wandered for a long time among the decomposing bodies of the dead, trying to find him, and this sight made an indelible impression on him. The artist recalled the days after the battle: “The number of wounded was so great that it exceeded all expectations. Everything that was prepared turned out to be insufficient.<...>Each of the doctors worked for two, the sisters of mercy rendered unrequited services these days, and, despite the fact, nevertheless, the masses of the wounded remained for days without bandaging and without food. When it rained, the wounded were literally soaked through, as there was nowhere for everyone to hide. Hours of suffering, pain, agony and often heavy death are the price that must be paid in any war, no matter what it is fought for.
"Winners"
1878–1879 Canvas, oil. 180×301 cm Kyiv National Museum Russian art.
Balkan series
Another picture about the Russian-Turkish war depicts the final battle of Telish, when the Russian regiment was almost completely destroyed due to the fault of the commanders. Again on the canvas are the bodies of the dead and the few survivors. But the horror of this picture is not in the victims carried away by death. The inhumanity of those who remained to live is terrible. The victorious Turks are rummaging through the pockets of the dead - what if something valuable is found? They immediately pull off uniforms and boots from still warm bodies and laugh merrily, taking one of the survivors prisoner. War shocks and blurs the eye, and at some point, cruel deeds cease to seem unnatural. Vereshchagin shows disrespect for the dead - albeit enemies, but the same people who have children and families left at home.
“Defeated. Panikhida"
1879 Oil on canvas. 179.7 × 300.4 cm State Tretyakov Gallery
After the end of the assault on Plevna and the Russian-Turkish war, Vereshchagin wrote: “I can’t express the severity of the impression that I endure when I go around the battlefields in Bulgaria. In particular, the hills surrounding Plevna are crushed by memories - they are continuous masses of crosses, monuments, more crosses and crosses without end. In the painting "Requiem" the war is depicted as an all-consuming death. The pale yellow field is dotted with bodies to the very horizon, and there is no end to them. Two gloomy figures of a priest and a commander performing a memorial service are the only living thing that is here. The sky in mourning pours bitter tears for the great human stupidity, forcing time after time, from generation to generation, to start senseless and cruel wars.
"Apotheosis of War"
1871 Oil on canvas. 127×197 cm State Tretyakov Gallery
Perhaps this is the most famous canvas of the artist, which crowns his work. In the picture, a hot desert, a scorched orchard, the ruins of a city - all that remains of a once flourishing land. A flock of vultures circle over this graveyard in search of prey. Vereshchagin knew human anatomy perfectly and carefully wrote out each skull in a huge pyramid. These remains belong not only to soldiers: there are old people, women, and children. This means that war affects everyone. And destroys everyone. This work is a moral sermon to all living beings and the apotheosis of Vereshchagin's philosophy. There is an address inscription on the frame: "Dedicated to all the great conquerors - past, present and future."
Vereshchagin hated the war, although all his life he selflessly wrote only it. He died while sketching another battle during a naval clash between Russia and Japan. About his work, he wrote: “There are many other objects that I would depict with much more willingness. All my life I passionately loved and wanted to paint the sun.
For referenceYou can see the artist’s paintings live from April 20 to July 24 at the State Russian Museum at the retrospective exhibition “Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin. To the 175th Anniversary of Birth”, the general sponsor of which is VTB Bank.
Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilyevich (Vasily Vereshchagin, 1842-1904), Russian artist, master of battle painting. Born in Cherepovets on October 14 (26), 1842 in the family of a landowner. In 1850-1860 he studied at the St. Petersburg Cadet Corps, graduating with the rank of midshipman. Sailed in 1858-1859 on the frigate "Kamchatka" and other ships to Denmark, France, England. In 1860 he entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, but left it in 1863, dissatisfied with the teaching system. He visited the workshop of J.-L. Jerome at the Paris School fine arts(1864). All his life he was a tireless traveler. In an effort (in his own words) "to learn from the living chronicle of the history of the world," he traveled around Russia, the Caucasus, the Crimea, the Danube, Western Europe, twice visited Turkestan (1867-1868, 1869-1870), participating in the colonial campaigns of Russian troops, twice - in India (1874-1876, 1882). In 1877-1878 he participated in the Russian-Turkish war in the Balkans. He traveled a lot, in 1884 he visited Syria and Palestine, in 1888-1889 and 1902 the USA, in 1901 the Philippines, in 1902 Cuba, in 1903 Japan. The impressions from the trips were embodied in large cycles of sketches and paintings. In his battle canvases, the underside of the war is revealed in a journalistic, acute, with harsh realism. Although his famous Turkestan series"has a well-defined imperial-propaganda orientation, in the paintings above the winners and the vanquished, a sense of tragic doom gravitates everywhere, emphasized by a dull yellowish-brown, truly" desert "color. famous symbol the whole series was the painting "The Apotheosis of War" (1870-1871, Tretyakov Gallery), depicting a pile of skulls in the desert; on the frame there is an inscription: "Dedicated to all the great conquerors: past, present and future."
From the memoirs of the artist Mikhail Nesterov: “Across from me, at the door, sat a civilian with a pale, ivory face, a huge, perfectly formed forehead, enlarged by a large bald head, with an aquiline nose, thin lips, and a large beard. An extremely interesting, intelligent, energetic face. stitched jacket - an officer's St. George's cross. Wow, I thought, the civilian must have been a warrior. His face, the more I looked at him, was so familiar, long known. Where did I see him? .. They treated him with some attention to the civilian and the cavalry guards to his little white cross on an orange and black ribbon. And suddenly I remembered his face. Yes, this is Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin, our famous battle hero, the hero of Tashkent, an associate of Skobelev! That's who was with us now in the compartment! "
Vasily Vereshchagin
Vereshchagin - artist legendary destiny and glory. For contemporaries - both at home and in Europe - he is not only an outstanding painter, but also a desperate revolutionary, breaking with the generally accepted in life and work, an outstanding talent and outstanding nature - perhaps, as a nature, he is even more significant, grandiose than as a talent . “Vereshchagin is not just an artist, but something more,” Kramskoy wrote after the first acquaintance with his painting, and a few years later he again remarked: “Despite the interest of his art collections, the author himself is a hundred times more interesting and instructive.”
Vereshchagin never wrote to order, did not lean on requests and exhortations, whether they came from the authorities, from criticism or from the public. A man of morbid sense of dignity, he feared most of all the loss of independence, what "would follow when I was gagged with money," as he once put it. He did not seek the support of those in power, he generally avoided "writing and speaking with important people"because he knew for himself the peculiarity of being impudent and even rude against his will. In official circles he was paid the same: they treated him unkindly, found the plots of his paintings tendentiously gloomy, and he himself was ready to be considered the head of nihilism in Russian art. "I will always do that and only what I myself find good, and in the way I myself find it necessary, "- Vereshchagin has been faithful to this principle all his life both in creativity, and in convictions, and in relations with others.
In Russian art, he stands apart. He has no direct teachers and direct followers. He does not commit himself to any artistic association, stands outside parties and circles, does not seek and does not accept anyone's awards. In 1874, Vereshchagin publicly refuses the title of professor of the Academy of Arts offered to him, citing the fact that he considers "all ranks and distinctions in art are certainly harmful." This act receives a wide response: in essence, Vereshchagin is the first of the Russian artists who decides to publicly, openly, defiantly put himself outside the traditional order - does what "we all know, think and even, perhaps, wish; but we there is not enough courage, character, and sometimes honesty to do the same, "as Kramskoy commented on his act.
Balkan series- the culmination of Vereshchagin's work. Shown together with the Indian series for the first time in London and Paris in 1879, and then demonstrated (in a changing composition and surrounded by new works) throughout 1881-1891 in many cities in Europe and America, it again aroused great interest in the artist around the world. . In Russia, the series was exhibited twice: in 1880 in St. Petersburg and in 1883 - in Moscow and St. Petersburg (with the addition of three capital "Plevna" paintings completed in 1881).
The Balkan series was created in Paris in 1878-1879 (some canvases were painted later) on the basis of sketches and a collection of authentic objects brought from Bulgaria. In the course of his work, Vereshchagin twice came to the places of hostilities, to Shipka and in the vicinity of Plevna. Upon returning to Paris, he at first thought to take up "Indian poems" again, but the transition from the impressions of the war to memories of India was too abrupt and painful, and already at the end of 1878 he completely switched to the Balkan subjects. For two years, several dozen canvases have been painted. Vereshchagin works with even more obsession than ever, in a state of constant nervous tension, without giving himself a break, almost never leaving the workshop and not allowing anyone into it.
The Balkan series includes about thirty paintings. It consists of separate groups of works, a kind of sub-series, "short poems", as the artist would call them, related to the main episodes of the war.
Vasily Vereshchagin Snow trenches (Russian positions on the Shipka Pass)
Vasily Vereshchagin Shipka Sheinovo, 1879
Vasily Vereshchagin Skobelev near Shipka
Vasily Vereshchagin Before the attack. Near Plevna
Vasily Vereshchagin Picket on the Danube
Vasily Vereshchagin After the attack. Dressing station near Plevna.
Vasily Vereshchagin Cart for the wounded
Vasily Vereshchagin German spy
Vasily Vereshchagin Picket in the Balkans
Vasily Vereshchagin / Two hawks. Bashi-bazuki, 1883
Vasily Vereshchagin / All is calm on Shipka, 1893
Vasily Vereshchagin Tiger-eater, 1890s
Vasily Vereshchagin Crossing the column of Skobeleva M.D. through the Balkans
Vasily Vereshchagin / Corner of the Turkish redoubt taken by Skobelev on August 30
Vasily Vereshchagin Winners
Vasily Vereshchagin / Defeated. Memorial Service for Fallen Soldiers
V. Vereshchagin. Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka. Butter. 1878-1879.
Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilievich
112 years ago, when the battleship Petropavlovsk exploded off Port Arthur, Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilyevich (1842-1904), a great Russian battle painter, died. main topic many of his works are a denunciation of wars and a display of the courage and heroism of the Russian people.
In 1877-1878, Vereshchagin was in the Russian-Turkish war and painted a series of paintings dedicated to military events. The researcher of Vereshchagin's work, doctor of art history, tells about the canvases of the Balkan series.
In 1860-1870, the Russian people followed with sympathy and intense attention the course of the liberation struggle of the Balkan Slavs against the centuries-old Ottoman yoke. With delight and joy he perceived the successes of the rebels, bitterly experienced their failures. Donations were collected "for the brothers of the Bulgarians." Russian volunteers joined the ranks of the Balkan rebels.
In April 1877 the government Ottoman Empire war was declared. The writers V. Garshin and V. Gilyarovsky, the revolutionary S. Stepnyak-Kravchinsky left as volunteers; surgeon N. Pirogov and doctor N. Sklifosovsky worked tirelessly in the hospitals of the frontline. The artists A. Bogolyubov, V. Polenov, N. Karazin, E. Makarov became participants in the war ... Representatives of the progressive intelligentsia considered it their duty to participate in the battles for the liberation of Bulgaria. Volunteer went to the army and the artist Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin.
Vereshchagin observed the war not as an impassive witness, but as an active participant in it. In his opinion, he could convey the true truth about the war in pictures only by directly experiencing the dangers of battle.
In June 1877, the artist received permission to participate in the attack of the speedboat "Joke" on the Danube against the Turkish steam frigate.
The joke "boldly rushed at the enemy, but the attempt to blow up the Turkish ship failed: the mine guides were killed by enemy fire. The Russian boat, having received holes, began to fill with water, which had to be continuously pumped out. Only thanks to the dedication of the crew, the ship was saved. The commander of the "Joke", several sailors and Vereshchagin were injured.
Prematurely leaving the hospital, Vereshchagin again returned to the army. The artist traveled around Bulgaria, saw the “third” assault on Plevna, its fall after the blockade, was on the Shipka Pass, on the battlefields near Telish and Shipka-Sheinovo, participated in skirmishes with the enemy beyond the Balkans, in the capture of Adrianople. Those around him were amazed at his courage.
Taking part in military operations, Vereshchagin did not forget about creativity. He painted and painted scenes of battles, bivouacs, crossings of military columns, killed and wounded. He often made sketches and sketches under enemy fire.
Vereshchagin portrayed the events of the war of 1877-1878 in many ways. His series included about thirty canvases. Many of them convey scenes and episodes seen by the artist. He showed the war as a folk drama, such as it really is, in its complex inconsistency, when victories alternate with defeats, and success is achieved by heavy sacrifices, a monstrous strain of strength and nerves, the suffering of people, sitting in snowy trenches, crossing broken roads in the rain, waist-deep in mud. The artist tried to depict the "reverse" side of the war, its true face. He did not forget what sacrifices and hardships the victory cost.
Vereshchagin's large canvas "Shipka-Sheinovo" is dedicated to the triumph of Russian and Bulgarian weapons. The painting depicts a snow-covered valley bounded by snow-capped mountain peaks, and to the right by the Turkish Sheinovo redoubt. Along the soldiers' ranks, M. D. Skobelev, accompanied by a retinue, rushes on a white horse. Taking off his cap and raising it high above his head, he addresses the troops with a greeting. Soldiers' hats fly up, a mighty "Hurrah!" is heard. Svita Skobelev, among whom the artist depicted himself, barely keeps up with the impetuous general.
By arranging the ranks of troops and the movement of a group of riders diagonally, the artist achieves the impression of the infinity of the soldiers' ranks, the great spatial depth of the picture. The ranks of the second plan emphasize the immensity of the mountains, so severely impregnable, but passed and conquered by Russian and Bulgarian soldiers. The central group is relegated to the background, while the front one is filled with the bodies of the fallen. With a compositional emphasis on the disasters of war and a distance from the scene of triumph, the artist emphasizes the severity of the victims, at the cost of which victory was won. The hymn to the courage of a soldier merges with the tragic sound of the requiem.
In domestic battle art, it was not customary to depict the defeat of the army.
The painting "Winners" shows a field near Telish, covered with the bodies of fallen rangers after an unsuccessful assault. Turkish marauders roam the field, celebrating victory, finishing off the wounded, undressing the dead. The artist did not allow exaggeration or deliberateness. The smiles and laughter of the "winners" among the mutilated bodies emphasize their bestial habits. The sharp plot of the picture, its deep content acquire special expressiveness. In the center, a hefty fellow with a grinning face is trying on the uniform of a Russian officer, amusing the accomplices in the crime. His figure is composition center canvases. It seems to absorb the mood of the "winners": reckless fun, monstrous
cruelty, acquisitiveness.
The painting "The Defeated", or "Panihida for the Slain", depicts a scene that the artist was an eyewitness to. The boundless field to the horizon is littered with the bodies of fallen Russian soldiers. Through the leafless growth of bushes, the yellowed dried grass, the viewer sees naked bodies disfigured by the Turks, already limp, having lost their natural outlines. Regimental priest funeral service for soldiers who died a martyr's death. The gloomy, leaden sky covered with thick clouds becomes ominously blue towards the horizon. Dry grass, yellow shrubs - autumn withered nature - set off the deadness of the battlefield and torture, enhance the mood of oppressive, hopeless sadness. The horizontal format of the canvas helps the artist to emphasize the size of the field and the scale of the tragedy. The unbalanced, asymmetrical composition evokes a feeling of unease and thereby enhances the tragedy of the scene. The color unity of the picture, the absence of strict lines, shapes, contours is the result of the realist artist's work on improving the pictorial language, reflections on the color relationship and interdependence of the phenomena of the world, understanding the optical role of the light-air medium, which conceals and softens the outlines of objects with a distance.
Vereshchagin's paintings show the true heroes of the epic of liberation - soldiers and part of the officers who showed courage, loyalty to duty, to the Motherland.
The unfinished painting "Attack" depicts an episode of the third assault on Plevna. On the hilly terrain, illuminated by the reflections of fires, under enemy fire, the infantry unit rushed to the enemy fortifications. The dead lie here and there. Convulsively leaning on their guns, the wounded crawl away. The picture captivates with truth, simplicity, artlessness. How unlike these bodies, crouched to the ground, are the gallant, beautiful, stately warriors shining with contentment, who are usually flatteringly depicted by court artists, going on the attack in the parade formation! The dramatic theme of the suffering of a soldier comes to the fore.
A series of paintings by Vereshchagin about the Russian-Turkish war was distinguished by an extremely important feature. They were works of art critical realism. They contained an assessment of events from a democratic standpoint, contained a sentence passed by the artist.
Vereshchagin was heartbroken for a soldier who, due to mediocrity, the arbitrariness of rulers and generals, brought huge, often unnecessary sacrifices in the war, was a bold accuser of the morals of the autocratic elite, often guilty of the senseless death of soldiers, of the suffering of the people. Of course, the Russian government found the depiction of these sides of the war to be unpatriotic. In fact, Vereshchagin acted as an ardent patriot, as a person imbued with passionate concern for the people.
The artist was a member of the defense of Shipka. He saw how regiments of soldiers who did not have warm uniforms perished from the cold. Meanwhile, General Radetsky, who led the defense, spent time five kilometers from the front line, playing cards from morning to night. He ended his reports on the situation of the troops entrusted to him with the stereotypical phrase: “Everything is calm on Shipka!”
In the triptych “Everything is calm on Shipka!” the democrat artist exposed the true face of those generals who, having forgotten their military duty, looked at the soldiers as inferior beings, dooming them to a senseless death. The composition depicts a freezing sentry, faithful to his duty to the end, but forgotten at his post and doomed to death. The triptych, with its tragic content and ironic title, has become a common noun in Russia.
Vereshchagin's paintings with their humanistic content, which were highly appreciated by the advanced circles of society, aroused the fury and indignation of the royal court. None of his canvases dedicated to the war of 1877-1878 was acquired by the tsarist government. Dozens of different artists were given commissions for new canvases about this campaign. Not a single one was ordered to Vereshchagin: they saw him as a rebel, a nihilist.
Gradually, the Balkan series of Vereshchagin was scattered. This became a genuine tragedy for the artist - a patriot and humanist.
Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin managed to create monumental images of Russian soldiers-liberators, to rise to a broad generalization of the tragedy of the war, to sing the feat of the Russian people in the name of the liberation of the Bulgarian brothers.