Painting by V. V. Vereshchagin “Shipka-Sheinovo. Skobelev near Shipka" was written in 1878 and refers to Balkan series artist's paintings. 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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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 former 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 Tretyakov Gallery, the second - in the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg. The compositions of the canvases are almost the same: in the foreground - the wounded and the dead, behind - officers and soldiers celebrating the victory. However, on the canvas of the Tretyakov Gallery foreground unloaded, naturalistic colors gave 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.
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 over 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. of a tailored 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, hero of Tashkent, Skobelev's associate! 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 fact, Vereshchagin is the first of the Russian artists who decides to publicly, openly, defiantly place 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 items 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 his return 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 steep 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
Vasily Vasilyevich (October 14, 1842, Cherepovets, Novgorod province - March 31, 1904, near Port Arthur (now Luishun, China)), Russian. artist, publicist, public figure, traveler. Author of historical battle paintings, ethnographic series, landscape painter. Genus. in the family of a landowner, leader of the nobility. He studied at the Alexander Junior Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg (1850-1852), then at the Naval Cadet Corps (1853-1860), retired of his own free will with the rank of midshipman of the fleet. He attended classes at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, from 1860 he studied at the Imp. Academy of Arts (AH) in the classroom history painting at A. T. Markov, then at A. E. Beideman (did not graduate); for the sketch "The Beating of the Suitors of Penelope by the Returning Ulysses" received a small silver medal (1861). In 1874 he was awarded the title of professor of the Academy of Arts (he refused, because he was convinced of the dangers of "all ranks and distinctions in art"), since 1883 an honorary member of the Serbian Scientific Society in Belgrade. He was awarded the officer's St. George's Cross of the 4th degree (1868) for the defense of the Samarkand fortress; participant in military operations Russian tour. war (1877-1878) in Plevna, on the Shipka Pass, in Adrianople, etc.
The academic system of teaching disappointed V., whose artistic aspirations were associated with the establishment of realism in art, interest in natural observations. These searches brought him closer to L. M. Zhemchuzhnikov, V. V. Stasov and P. M. Tretyakov. Leaving his studies at the Academy of Arts, V. went to the Caucasus (1863-1864, 1865), where he wrote his first independent works. Field impressions played an important role in the development of V. as an artist: the technique of performance and compositional solutions changed, and the psychological depth of images appeared (for example, sketches for the unrealized painting Barge Haulers, 1866, State Tretyakov Gallery). Caucasian drawings received an approving assessment from the French. painter J. L. Gerome and opened the doors of the Paris Academy of Arts for V. (1864-1866, did not graduate).
The result of V.'s two stays in Wed. Asia (1867-1868, 1868-1870) became Turkestan series paintings, which brought fame to the artist. Reflections on the catastrophic consequences of the war were reflected in the "heroic poem" "Barbara", reflecting the events of the Turkestan campaign. The series consisted of 7 works: “Look out” (1873), “Attack by surprise” (1871), “Surrounded - persecuted” (1872, destroyed by V.), “Presenting trophies” (1872), “Triumph” (1872), “ At the tomb of the saint - they thank the Almighty "(1873, State Museum of Painting, Ankara)," The Apotheosis of War "(1871, all - State Tretyakov Gallery). The painting "The Apotheosis of War", dedicated to the times of Tamerlane, has become an artistic verdict on the war. The inscription on the frame of the canvas reads: "Dedicated to all the great conquerors: past, present and future." The works of this series caused a mixed assessment in Russia.
The research nature of V.'s travels was revealed as a result of 2 trips to India (1874-1876, 1882-1883), where he visited large cities, temple complexes in Ajanta and Ellora, Vost. Himalayas, Nepal, pl. other districts of the state, climbed Mount Kanchenjunga (“The Mausoleum of the Taj Mahal in Agra” (1874-1876), “The Glacier on the Road from Kashmir to Ladakh” (1875), both - State Tretyakov Gallery).
The Balkan (1878-1880), Palestine (1884-1885), Himalayan (1885-1886), and Trilogy of Executions (completed in 1887) stand out among the series of paintings by V., which became famous in Europe. Events Russian tour. wars were reflected in the Balkan series, where the main group of works are paintings dedicated to the defense of Shipka, among them - "Shipka-Sheinovo" (1878-1879, State Tretyakov Gallery; version-repetition - GRM), a number of canvases are associated with the assault on Plevna - "After the attack "(1881, State Tretyakov Gallery) and the battle of Telish -" Winners "(1878-1879, KMRI). In con. 80s 19th century V. worked on a series of sketches depicting the architectural monuments of Yaroslavl, Rostov, Kostroma, Makariev, and a series of portraits of "unremarkable Russian people" (completed in 1895).
The first personal exhibition of V. was organized in London in 1873, the next (over 70 of them) - in the cities of Russia, Europe and the USA (1888-1891), exhibition catalogs contained detailed comments V. to the paintings. V. moved to Moscow in 1891 and began work on a series of paintings "1812" (1891-1900), wrote sketches, traveling through the North. Dvina (1894). Visited the Solovetsky Monastery; traveled to the Philippines (1901), Cuba and the USA (1902), Japan (1903). In 1904, after the announcement of the Russian-Japanese. of the war he went to the active army to Daln. East. He died in the first days of the war, during the explosion of the battleship Petropavlovsk.
Numerous travel V. became material for his literary and journalistic activities aimed at establishing a new mission. visual arts- "to be a call for the unity of mankind, for the creation of a society based on the democratic principles of equality." The works contain detailed ethnographic and geographical observations, analytical material on political systems and social phenomena of various countries (Dukhobors and Molokans in Transcaucasia. M., 1900; On the war in Asia and Europe: Recollection of the artist. V.V. Vereshchagin. M., 1894; On the Northern Dvina: On wooden churches. M., 1896 and others).
In 1901 he was nominated for the 1st Nobel Prize peace. In the homeland of the artist in Cherepovets in 1998, the House-Museum of the Vereshchagins was opened.
Arch.: RGALI. F. 718; RNB OR. F. 137; GTG OR. F. 17; RGIA. F. 789. Op. 14. Unit ridge 29-B [personal file].
Lit .: Sadoven V . AT . V. V. VERESCHAGIN. M., 1950; Lebedev A . TO . V. V. VERESCHAGIN. M., 1958 [Bibliography]; Vereshchagin V. AT . Memoirs of the artist's son V. V. Vereshchagin / Foreword. A. Lebedeva. L., 1982; Zavadskaya E. AT . V. V. VERESCHAGIN. M., 1986; Lebedev A . K ., Solodovnikov, A . AT . V. V. VERESCHAGIN. M., 1988; VV Vereshchagin in the Tretyakov Gallery: On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth: [Cat. vyst.] / Avt. intro. Art. I. V. Brook. M., 1990; Demin L . M . With an easel around the globe: The world through the eyes of VV Vereshchagin. M., 1991; Lebedev A . TO . Life and legacy of VV Vereshchagin in the light of new publ. M., 1992.
E.A.I.
This picture was painted in 1878, it can be attributed to the Balkan cycle of paintings. In it, the artist shows us the value of the victory of the Russian army over the enemy in the Russian-Turkish war in the mountains of Bulgaria.
The picture shows a parade near the settlements of Sheinovo and Shipka in 1877, this parade was organized in honor of the victory of the Russians over the Turks. Vereshchagin was an eyewitness to this event. The canvas depicts a long column of Russian soldiers, along which horsemen rush. Leads a retinue to white color on horseback General Skobelev. His hand is raised up, with this gesture he seems to congratulate the soldiers on their victory. In response to the gesture, the army shouts a long "Hurrah" and throws up their soldier's caps.
The foreground of the picture is shown to us by a snow-covered field on which lie dead bodies soldier. In my opinion, the artist specifically shows us the dead so that we can feel the whole tragedy of the atmosphere. It is through this contrast of happiness from victory, and the corpses of dead soldiers, that we must comprehend the value human life. Or maybe Vereshchagin wanted to show us the patriotism of the dead soldiers, that they fought for their homeland and stood against the enemy to the death. The picture conveys the whole event very realistically. A very vivid portrayal of the war.
I would like to note that Vereshchagin does not glorify the soldiers of the survivors, but shows, in general, ordinary soldiers, their dedication and heroism, as if reminding us that thanks to them we have all our expanses and distances. I really liked the picture of this artist. She made us become proud of our army, for ordinary people and treat those who died in this war with sympathy and empathy. No war is worth such sacrifices and deaths. Every loss for the Russian army is a great tragedy, because every warrior, every soldier is valuable and equal before the rest.