Canvas, oil. 188x405
Russian Museum
This picture of V.V. Vereshchagin completes his large-scale "Balkan Series", which brought together about 30 canvases, which the author created in Paris in 1878-1879 on the basis of sketches and a collection of authentic objects brought from Bulgaria. In 1877-1878, Russia participated in the war with the Turks for the liberation of the Bulgarians from the Ottoman yoke. In the course of his work, Vereshchagin twice came to the places of hostilities, to Shipka and in the vicinity of Plevna.
After the defeat of the Turks near Sheinov on January 9, 1878, the enemy army laid down their arms. The painting, which belongs to the Russian Museum, is the author's repetition. It strengthens the motive of the dramatic tension of the event, clearly shows how expensive the victory over the enemy was. The frozen bodies of dead Russian soldiers cover a snow-covered field on foreground paintings. On the left, at the foot of the mountain range, General M.D. Skobelev circles the ranks of Russian soldiers and congratulates them on their victory. In his retinue, a little further away, next to the standard-bearer, the artist himself is depicted in a white jacket. The soldiers answer the commander with a loud and friendly "Hurrah!" and throw up their hats.
Vereshchagin V.V.
Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilievich (1842, Cherepovets, Novgorod Province - 1904, Port Arthur)
Battle painter, landscape genre painter, draftsman.
Born in Cherepovets, Novgorod province. He studied at the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg (1853-1860), at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts (since 1858), at the Imperial Academy of Arts under A.T. Markov and A.E. Beideman (1860-1863), studied at the Paris Academy of Arts with J.L. Gerome and A. Bid (1864-1866). In 1884 he was elected professor at the Academy of Arts, but refused this title, striving for independence from the official trend in art.
He traveled a lot - in the Caucasus and the Danube (1863-1865), in the North of Russia (1887-1888, 1894), was in Cuba and the Philippines (1901-1902), in Japan (1903). Member of many battles. Cavalier of the St. George Cross for the Battle of Samarkand (1868). He took part in hostilities in Turkestan, the Russian-Turkish war.
Died along with Admiral S.O. Makarov during the explosion of the flagship battleship Petropavlovsk near Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War.
He created large series of paintings - Turkestan (1868-1873), Balkan (1877-1879), Palestinian (1884-1885), Indian and Himalayan (1870-1880s), "1812" (1887-1904). For paintings on the theme of the Spanish-American war of 1898-1899 nominated for the first Nobel Prize peace.
He marked with his work a whole stage in the development of world battle painting. Author of many literary works and memories.
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.
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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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 on the right by the Turkish redoubt of Sheinovo. 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 sentry freezing to the end, faithful to duty, 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.
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 execution and compositional solutions changed, and the psychological depth of the 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) was the Turkestan series of 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 is represented by 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 Peace Prize. 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; V. V. Vereshchagin Tretyakov Gallery: To the 150th anniversary of the 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.