The battle genre in the works of Vereshchagin. Artist Vereshchagin V.V.

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin is a great Russian artist. Known as battle painter, travel artist. The future painter was born in 1842 in the city of Cherepovets. Together with his brothers, he was assigned to the military educational institution. But unlike his brothers, who made a career in the military field, Vasily Vasilyevich, after a short period of service, gave up military affairs and entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. After he left the Academy, he went to the Caucasus, where he continued to paint, and then to Paris, where he continued his studies. In Paris, his teacher was a famous French artist.

During his life, Vereshchagin traveled to almost all countries of the world. He has been to many European countries, China, Turkey, India, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Syria, Cuba, Japan, the Philippine Islands, the USA and many others. And wherever he was, he painted his wonderful canvases. If you look at his paintings in accordance with the date of painting, you can trace the entire chain of his life and travels. He left a very rich layer for his descendants cultural heritage and is remembered as the greatest painter of our country. His paintings are interesting not only from the point of view of high skill in painting, but also from the point of view of a person who is interested in history and culture different corners peace. In addition, as a battle painter, he painted a large number of canvases on military themes, but one day he exclaimed that he would no longer paint such scenes, since he felt too deeply about everything he wrote. He indeed witnessed many wars, participated in the Russian-Turkish war, took part in the colonial campaigns of Russian troops and saw all the horrors and sorrows of military operations with his own eyes.

The most famous painting by Vasily Vereshchagin is considered “ Apotheosis of war". Here he depicted the very spirit of war, which brings nothing but grief, suffering, death, pain and desolation. Vereshchagin himself called this painting a still life, since, apart from the crows, it depicts dead nature.

The great Russian artist Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin died truly heroically. During Russo-Japanese War He went to the front, where on March 31, 1904, the battleship Petropavlovsk died in a mine explosion.

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Apotheosis of war

Arab on a camel

Rich Kyrgyz hunter with falcon

Brahmin temple in Adelnur

Burlak with a hat in his hand

Bukhara soldier

In conquered Moscow

Camel in the courtyard of the caravanserai

Horseman in Jaipur

Horseman warrior in Jaipur

Doors of Timur (Tamerlane)

Children of the Solon tribe

Residents of Western Tibet

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin is one of the largest Russian realist artists. His works gained national fame, and in the world of art his fame as an outstanding battle painter was firmly established. However, the range of Vasily Vasilyevich’s creativity was much wider than battle themes. The artist significantly enriched historical, everyday, portrait and landscape painting of his era. For his contemporaries, Vereshchagin was not only famous artist, but also a desperate revolutionary, breaking with generally accepted canons both in his work and in life. “Vereshchagin is not just a painter, he is something more,” wrote art critic, ideological leader of the Wanderers Ivan Kramskoy. “Despite the interest of his paintings, the author himself is a hundred times more instructive.”

Vasily Vasilyevich was born in Cherepovets on October 14, 1842 in the family of a landowner. He spent the first eight years of his life on his father’s estate near the village of Pertovka. The large family The future artist lived off corvee labor and quitrents from serfs. And although Vereshchagin’s parents were known among the landowners as relatively humane people, Vasily himself often observed scenes of oppression of serfs and lordly tyranny. The impressionable boy was sensitive to the humiliation of people and the violation of human dignity.

At the age of eight, Vasily’s parents sent him to the Alexander Cadet Corps for minors. The order in the educational institution during the time of Nicholas I was characterized by rough drill, cane discipline, despotism and callousness, which did not contribute to the cadets' desire to serve. It was during his years of study that the main character traits of Vereshchagin were revealed. He reacted sharply to any injustice or humiliation of a person. The class swagger and arrogance of the cadets, the favor towards students from noble families of the corps leaders aroused a feeling of furious indignation in Vereshchagin.

After graduating from the Alexander Cadet Corps, Vasily entered the Naval Corps in St. Petersburg. It should be noted that during the entire period of his studies, Vereshchagin was among the best students, and he graduated from the educational institution in first place in terms of points. Here the strengthening will of the future artist was expressed; in the struggle for primacy, he had to sacrifice rest and entertainment, and regularly lacked sleep. However, the knowledge gained, especially Fluency French, German and English languages, were very useful to him in subsequent years.

In 1860, Vasily Vasilyevich was promoted to midshipman. opened up before him brilliant career naval officer However, while still studying at the Marine Corps, Vereshchagin firmly decided to become an artist. He had a desire to draw since childhood; from 1858 he regularly attended the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. Vereshchagin's desire to leave the service encountered serious difficulties. Firstly, his parents rebelled against this act in the most decisive manner. The mother said that painting was humiliating for a representative of an old noble family, and the father even promised to refuse his son financial assistance. And secondly, the Navy Department did not want to part with one of the most capable graduates of the Naval Corps. Contrary to the will of his parents and superiors, Vasily Vasilyevich left military career, entering the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1860.

V.V.Vereshchagin - student of the Academy of Arts 1860

The academic leadership immediately allocated a much-needed financial subsidy to Vereshchagin, and he devoted himself to his favorite work with all his spiritual fervor and diligence. Already in the first years of his studies, Vasily showed remarkable success; his drawings regularly received encouragement and awards. However, the longer Vereshchagin studied at the Academy, the stronger his dissatisfaction with local “studies” matured. The prevailing education system was based on the traditions of classicism, which included the obligatory idealization of nature. Students in their works were supposed to address themes of antiquity, religion and mythology. Even figures and events national history it was necessary to depict it in an antique manner. Meanwhile, the situation in Russia at that time was distinguished by the exceptional severity of socio-political life. The crisis of the serf system intensified, and a revolutionary situation arose. The autocracy was forced to prepare and implement peasant reform. There are many in the country bright paintings, poems, dramatic works, exposing the intolerable living conditions of the urban poor and peasants. However, training at the Academy of Arts continued to remain divorced from the progressive views of the era, which caused discontent among some members of the artistic youth, including Vereshchagin.

Vasily Vereshchagin during his graduation from the Naval Cadet Corps. Photos from 1859 - 1860

Vasily Vasilyevich’s democratic views and his commitment to realism grew stronger and developed every day. The artist’s educational sketch on the theme of Homer’s “Odyssey” received praise from the Academy’s council, but the author himself was completely disillusioned with the educational system. He decided to put an end to classicism forever, and therefore cut up and burned the sketch. Vereshchagin left the educational institution in mid-1863, shortly before the famous “revolt of the fourteen”, which created an independent Artel of artists.

Vasily Vereshchagin during his first trip to the Caucasus

The young painter went to the Caucasus, eager to paint national images, scenes of folk life and southern nature, unusual for his eyes. Along the Georgian Military Road, Vasily Vasilyevich reached Tiflis, where he lived for more than a year. He earned his living by giving drawing lessons, and devoted all his free hours to studying the peoples of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, trying to capture everything interesting and characteristic with sketches. True representation real life, the passing of a “sentence” on her - this is what Vasily Vasilyevich began to see the meaning and purpose of art.

In those years, Vereshchagin worked only with pencil and watercolor; he did not have enough experience or knowledge to use oil paints. In 1864, Vereshchagin’s uncle died, the artist received a large inheritance and decided to continue his education. To do this, he went to France and entered the Paris Academy of Arts, starting an internship with the famous artist Jean-Leon Gerome. Hard work and enthusiasm allowed Vasily Vasilyevich to soon achieve considerable success. The Frenchman highly valued the talents of the new student, who, nevertheless, did not want to unquestioningly obey his instructions. Jerome offered endless sketches of antiques, advised to copy paintings of classics. In fact, the techniques of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts were cultivated here too. Vereshchagin attached importance only to working from life. In the spring of 1865 he returned to the Caucasus. The artist recalled: “I escaped from Paris as if from a dungeon, with some frenzy I began to paint in freedom.” Over the course of six months, the young artist visited many places in the Caucasus; he showed particular interest in dramatic stories people's life.

Drawings from this period depict the savagery of local religious customs and expose religious fanaticism, which takes advantage of the ignorance and darkness of the people.

At the end of 1865, Vereshchagin visited St. Petersburg, and then went back to Paris, where he again began his studies with diligence. From his Caucasian travels he brought a huge amount pencil drawings, which he showed to Jerome and Alexandre Bida, another French painter who took part in his training. Exotic and original paintings from the life of peoples little known in Europe made a favorable impression on skilled artists. However, this was not enough for Vasily Vasilyevich; he wanted to present his work to the mass audience.

Throughout the winter of 1865-1866, Vasily Vasilyevich continued to study hard at the Paris Academy. The artist’s working day lasted fifteen to sixteen hours without rest or walks, without attending concerts or theaters. His drawing technique has become more advanced and confident. He also mastered painting and began working with paints. Vereshchagin's official training ended in the spring of 1866, the artist left the Academy and returned to Russia.

Vasily Vasilyevich spent the summer of 1866 at the estate of his deceased uncle - the village of Lyubets, located in Cherepovets district. The outwardly calm life of the estate, located near the Sheksna River, was disturbed by the heart-rending cries of the crowds of barge haulers pulling merchant barges. The impressionable Vereshchagin was amazed by what he saw in this place tragic pictures from life ordinary people, converted into draft animals. Only in our country, according to the artist, did barge labor become a real disaster, acquiring a mass character. On this topic, Vereshchagin decided to paint a huge picture, for which oil paints made sketches of barge haulers, created sketches with a brush and pencil - several barge hauler teams of two hundred fifty to three hundred people, following in a train one after another. Despite the fact that in concept Vereshchagin’s canvas is significantly inferior to Repin’s famous painting “Barge Haulers on the Volga,” it is worth noting that Vasily Vasilyevich conceived the theme of the painting several years before Ilya Efimovich (1870-1873). In addition, Vereshchagin, unlike Repin, tried to reveal the drama of the barge hauler’s fate not by psychological, but by epic means. The large-scale work, aimed at attracting public attention to one of the social ills of Russia at that time, was not completed. The received inheritance ended, the artist had to devote all his time and energy to odd jobs. In the history of art, only sketches and expressive studies of barge haulers, created directly from life, have remained forever.

In mid-1867, Vasily Vasilyevich set off on his new journey - to Turkestan. The artist wrote about the reasons that prompted him to leave home: “I went because I wanted to find out that there is a real war, about which I heard and read a lot, near which I lived in the Caucasus.” At this time active fighting Russian army against the Bukhara Emirate. The events that took place interested Vereshchagin not at all from the side of tactics or strategy of battles, but only as a socio-political event in the conditions of which the people of each of the warring parties fight, live and suffer. At that moment, Vasily Vasilyevich did not yet have any anti-militarist convictions, any ideas or established opinions about the war. He was invited by the commander of the Russian troops, Konstantin Kaufman, and held the rank of ensign with him.

Vereshchagin used the long journey to Tashkent and countless trips around Turkestan for eighteen months to write a series of sketches and drawings showing the life of the peoples of Central Asia; local fortresses, cities and towns; historical monuments. Vasily Vasilyevich carefully studied the customs, met people, visited inns, mosques, teahouses, and bazaars. His albums contain colorful types of Tajiks, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Jews and Gypsies, as well as Persians, Afghans, Chinese and Indians he came across - people of different social status and age. At the same time, the artist noted the beauty of southern nature, majestic mountains, fertile steppes, and stormy rivers. A series of sketches and drawings made by Vereshchagin at the end of the 1860s is a unique work, in fact a visual encyclopedia of the way of life of the peoples of Central Asia in the mid-nineteenth century. At the same time, the artist's technique became more confident and impressive. Drawings learned to convey the subtlest lighting effects and light-and-dark transitions, and began to be distinguished by maximum accuracy of kinship with nature. The artist's skill in working with oil paints has also increased.

Samarkand, 1869

In mid-spring 1868, Vereshchagin learned that the Emir of Bukhara, who was in Samarkand, declared a “holy war” on Russia. Following the army, the artist rushed towards the enemy. Vasily Vasilyevich did not catch the massacre that unfolded on May 2, 1868 on the outskirts of Samarkand, but shuddered before it tragic consequences: “I have never seen a battlefield before, and my heart bled.” Vereshchagin stopped in Samarkand, occupied by Russian troops, and began to study the city. However, when the main forces under the command of Kaufman left Samarkand, continuing the fight with the emir, the city's garrison was attacked by numerous troops of the Shakhrisabz Khanate. The local population also rebelled, and Russian soldiers had to lock themselves in the citadel. The situation was catastrophic, the opponents outnumbered our forces eighty times. Vereshchagin had to change his brush to a gun and join the ranks of the defenders. With amazing courage and energy, he participated in the defense of the citadel, repeatedly led soldiers into hand-to-hand combat, and participated in reconnaissance forays. Once a bullet split the artist’s gun, another time it knocked his hat off his head, and in addition, in the battle he was wounded in the leg. His composure and courage created him a high reputation among the soldiers and officers of the detachment. The Russian soldiers survived, and after the siege was lifted, Vereshchagin was awarded the St. George Cross of the fourth degree. Vasily Vasilyevich constantly wore it. By the way, he resolutely refused all subsequent awards.

Apotheosis of War, 1871

The Samarkand defense strengthened Vereshchagin's will and character. The horrors of battles, the suffering and death of people, the looks of the dying, the atrocities of enemies who cut off the heads of prisoners - all this left an indelible mark on the artist’s mind, tormented and worried him. In the winter of 1868, the artist visited Paris and then arrived in St. Petersburg. In the northern capital, Vereshchagin developed active work on the organization and holding of the Turkestan exhibition. Thanks to Kaufman's support, mineralogical, zoological and ethnographic collections from Central Asia were exhibited in the city. Here Vereshchagin first presented a number of his drawings and paintings. The exhibition was a great success, and the press started talking about the artist’s works.
After the exhibition closed, Vasily Vasilyevich again went to Turkestan, this time along the Siberian highways. A trip through Siberia allowed him to see difficult life political exiles and convicts. In Central Asia, Vereshchagin constantly traveled and worked tirelessly. He traveled around Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, drove along the Chinese border, visited Samarkand again, and visited Kokand. During his travels, the artist repeatedly participated in battles with bandits of local sultans. And again Vereshchagin showed extraordinary courage and courage, exposing himself to mortal danger during hand-to-hand fights.

To summarize the material collected in Turkestan, the artist settled in Munich at the beginning of 1871. Constant exercises in the field of painting were not in vain. Now the artist was fluent in colorful harmony, sonorous colors easily and accurately conveyed space and the light-air environment. The artist devoted a significant part of the canvases, as before, to showing the life of Central Asia in the second half of the nineteenth century. The subjects of other films were episodes of the war for the annexation of Turkestan to Russia. These works convey with incorruptible truth the heroism of ordinary Russian soldiers, the barbarity and savagery of the customs of the Bukhara Emirate.

The famous collector and philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov, visiting Munich, visited Vasily Vasilyevich’s workshop. Vereshchagin's works made a strong impression on Tretyakov, and he immediately wanted to buy them. However, Vereshchagin wanted to organize a show to the general public before selling the paintings, to test his artistic and social beliefs. An exhibition of Vereshchagin's Turkestan works was opened in 1873 in London at the Crystal Palace. This was the artist's first individual exhibition. The works surprised the audience. Unusual and new in content, powerful and expressive in artistic-realistic form, breaking with the conventions of salon-academic art. The exhibition was great for the English public, and for Russian artist generally an unprecedented success. Magazines and newspapers published praising reviews.

Mortally wounded, 1873

At the beginning of 1874, Vereshchagin presented Turkestan paintings in St. Petersburg. To attract low-income audiences, he established free entry for several days a week. And this exhibition was a huge success, causing lively responses from leading figures of Russian culture. Mussorgsky, based on the plot of one of Vereshchagin’s paintings, wrote the musical ballad “Forgotten,” and Garshin composed a passionate poem about the unknown soldiers who died in this war. Kramskoy wrote: “This is something amazing. I don’t know if there is an artist equal to him at the present time here or abroad.”

However, the royal dignitaries, together with the highest generals, reacted sharply to the paintings negatively, finding their content slanderous and false, discrediting the honor of the Russian army. And this was understandable - after all, battle painters until that time depicted only victories of the tsarist troops. It was very difficult for the generals to come to terms with the episodes of defeat shown by Vereshchagin. In addition, while presenting in his paintings the historical epic of the annexation of Turkestan to Russia, the daring artist nowhere immortalized either the reigning emperor or at least one of his generals. Soon after the exhibition began, the ruling circles launched a real persecution of its organizer. Articles began to appear in the press accusing Vasily Vasilyevich of anti-patriotism and treason, of a “Turkmen” approach to events. The sale of reproductions of Vereshchagin's paintings was not allowed; even Mussorgsky's ballad was banned.

Under the influence of unfair and outrageous accusations, Vereshchagin, in a state of nervous attack, burned three of his beautiful paintings, which caused particular attacks from dignitaries. However, the conflict between him and government circles continued to intensify. He was accused of lying, portrayed as a troublemaker and a nihilist. They recalled individual episodes from the artist’s biography, for example, how he refused to serve in the navy and voluntarily left the Imperial Academy of Arts. The Turkestan series generally seemed to be an open challenge to the centuries-honored tradition of presenting military-historical events.

"Attacked by surprise", 1871

The atmosphere of persecution became so unbearable for Vereshchagin that, without deciding the fate of his Turkestan paintings, he left St. Petersburg before the exhibition closed, setting off on a long trip to India. Afterwards he gave the order to a trusted person to sell this series subject to the buyer's compliance with several mandatory conditions, such as: the preservation of paintings in their homeland, their accessibility to the public, the continuity of the series. As a result, Tretyakov bought the Turkestan works, placing them in his famous gallery.

With Vasily Vasilyevich’s departure from Russia, his conflict with government circles did not fade away. A new impetus was the demonstrative refusal of Vereshchagin, who was in India, from the professorship awarded to him in 1874 Imperial Academy arts Vereshchagin motivated his refusal by the fact that he considers all awards and titles in art unnecessary. A number of Academy artists took this as a personal insult. The severity of the situation lay in the fact that the Academy of Arts, which was essentially one of the court institutions headed by members of the imperial family, was at that time experiencing a deep crisis. By cultivating the outdated views of late classicism, the Academy lost its authority. Many advanced Russian artists moved away from it. Vereshchagin's public refusal further diminished the prestige of this government institution. The authorities tried to suppress discussion of Vasily Vasilyevich’s action in print media. It was forbidden to publish articles criticizing the Academy, much less expressing solidarity with Vereshchagin.

Horseman warrior in Jaipur. Around 1881

The artist lived in India for two years, visited many regions, and traveled to Tibet. At the beginning of 1876 he returned to France, and in 1882-1883 he again traveled around India, since the materials collected during the first trip were not enough. As in his previous travels, Vereshchagin carefully studied folk life and visited cultural and historical monuments. Vasily Vasilyevich worked sparing neither health nor strength. He had to repel attacks from wild animals, drown in a river, freeze on mountain peaks, and suffer from severe tropical malaria. The culmination of the Indian cycle was the revealing painting “Suppression Indian uprising by the British,” showing the most brutal scene of the execution of rebellious Indian peasants from cannons by the British colonialists.

At the beginning of 1877, the Russian-Turkish war began. Having learned about this, the artist immediately abandoned his begun paintings in Paris and went to the active army. Without government pay, but with the right of free movement, he became one of the adjutants of the Commander-in-Chief of the Danube Army. Vasily Vasilyevich took part in a number of battles and witnessed many battles. Every free minute he grabbed a pencil and paints; he often had to work under Turkish bullets. To questions from friends about why he voluntarily participates in battles and risks his life, the artist answered: “It is impossible to give paintings to society real war, looking at the battle through binoculars... You need to feel everything and do it yourself, participate in assaults, attacks, victories and defeats, experience cold, hunger, wounds, illnesses... You need to not be afraid to sacrifice your meat and blood, otherwise the pictures will not be “the same.”

Before the attack. Near Plevna

On June 8, 1877, while participating on the Danube as a volunteer in the attack of a small destroyer against a huge Turkish steamer, Vasily Vasilyevich was seriously wounded and almost died. Not yet recovered, the artist rushed to Plevna, where Russian troops stormed the stronghold for the third time. The Battle of Plevna became the basis of a number of famous paintings artist. At the end of the war, at the headquarters of Commander-in-Chief Vereshchagin they asked what award or order he would like to receive. “Of course, none!” - answered the artist. The Russian-Turkish War brought him great personal grief. His beloved younger brother Sergei died, and his other brother, Alexander, was seriously wounded. The loss of about forty of his sketches was also a nuisance for Vereshchagin. This happened due to the negligence of a number of people whom he instructed to send the work to Russia.

Vereshchagin's Balkan series is the most significant in his work, both in terms of artistic skill and ideological content. It depicts the unspeakable torment, toil and horrific disasters that war brings to the mass of soldiers and peoples. In connection with the opening of Vereshchagin’s exhibitions in St. Petersburg in 1880 and 1883, many articles supporting the artist appeared in the press: “In his paintings there are no sparkling bayonets, no triumphantly rustling banners, no brilliant squadrons flying towards the batteries, no presentation of trophies and solemn processions. All that fascinating, ceremonial atmosphere that humanity has come up with to cover up the most disgusting of its deeds is unfamiliar to the artist’s brush; before you is only bare reality.” Interest in Vereshchagin's paintings in society was unusually high. Lively discussions took place in private homes, clubs, theaters and on the streets. Critic Vladimir Stasov wrote: “Not all of Vereshchagin’s paintings are equal - he has both weak and mediocre ones. Although where have you seen an artist whose number of works contained only pearls and diamonds of the highest caliber? This is unthinkable. But who in Russia does not feel the greatness of Vereshchagin’s exhibition, which has nothing similar not only here, but throughout Europe? Their best current war painters are still far from our Vereshchagin in terms of courage and depth of realism... In technique, in expression, in thought, in feeling, Vereshchagin had never risen so high. Only those who are completely deprived of artistic meaning and feelings."

Snow trenches (Russian positions at Shipka Pass)

However, the authorities still accused the artist of anti-patriotism, of sympathy for the now Turkish army, and of deliberately discrediting the Russian generals. There were even proposals to deprive Vasily Vasilyevich of the title of Knight of St. George, arrest him and send him into exile. By the way, not only in our country, but in Europe, and later in America, the ruling circles were afraid of the accusatory, anti-militarist influence of Vereshchagin’s paintings. For example, the artist later wrote from the USA: “When I offered to take children to the exhibition at a low price, I was told that my paintings could turn young people away from war, which, according to these ‘gentlemen’, is undesirable.” And to the journalist’s question about how famous modern commanders feel about his works, Vereshchagin replied: “Moltke (Helmuth von Moltke - the largest military theorist of the nineteenth century) adored them and was always the first at exhibitions. However, he issued an order prohibiting soldiers from viewing the paintings. He allowed officers, but not soldiers.” To the reproaches of some military men that Vereshchagin in his works condensed the tragic aspects of the war too much, the artist replied that he did not show even a tenth of what he actually observed.

Due to difficult emotional experiences, Vasily Vasilyevich developed a serious nervous disorder, which led to internal doubts. In a message to Stasov in April 1882, he said: “There will be no more battle paintings - that’s it! I take my work too close to my heart, I weep for the grief of every killed and wounded person. In Russia, in Prussia, in Austria, the revolutionary orientation of my war scenes was recognized. Okay, let it not be the revolutionaries who draw, but I’ll find other subjects.” In 1884, Vasily Vasilyevich went to Palestine and Syria. After the trip, he created a series of paintings on Gospel subjects that were completely unusual for him. However, the artist interpreted them in a very original way, completely different from the traditions accepted in European fine arts. It must be added that Vereshchagin was a materialist and an atheist, did not believe in supernatural miracles and mysticism. As a result of long reflection, he tried to present the gospel legends materialistically, which the church recognized as sheer sacrilege. The Catholic clergy were terribly “offended” by the paintings: archbishops wrote entire appeals against them, groups of fanatics were looking for the artist, wanting to settle scores with him, and one monk doused the paintings “The Resurrection of Christ” and “ Holy family» acid, almost destroying them. In Russia, all evangelical paintings by Vasily Vasilyevich were banned.

Workshop of Vasily Vereshchagin in his house in Nizhnye Kotly. 1890s

In 1890, the artist’s dream of returning to his homeland came true. He settled in a new house on the outskirts of the capital, but lived there only briefly, going on a trip around Russia. As in his youth, he was interested in monuments, the life of the population, nature, folk types, ancient Russian applied arts. Among the paintings of the Russian cycle (1888-1895), the most outstanding were the portraits of “unremarkable Russians” - the images of ordinary people from the people.

Napolen on the Borodino field

In 1887, Vasily Vasilyevich began a new monumental series dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812. The twenty paintings he created presented a truly majestic epic full of patriotic pathos about the Russian people, about their national pride and courage, hatred of conquerors and devotion to the Motherland. Vereshchagin did a gigantic research work, studied many memoirs of contemporaries and historical materials written in different European languages. He personally explored the field of the Battle of Borodino, became acquainted with the relics of the era, and created a lot of sketches and sketches. The fate of the series of paintings about 1812 remained unresolved for many years. The paintings, intended for large palace halls and museums, did not attract private patrons. The government looked at Vereshchagin's new works with hostility and distrust, also stubbornly refusing to buy all the paintings at once, and the artist did not agree to sell one or two from a complete and indivisible series. Only on the eve of the centenary Patriotic War, under pressure public opinion, the tsarist government was forced to purchase the paintings.

Vereshchagin at his easel, 1902

At the end of his life, Vasily Vasilyevich made a number of long trips. In 1901, the artist visited the Philippine Islands, in 1902 - in Cuba and the USA, in 1903 - in Japan. Unusually picturesque Japanese sketches became a new stage in Vereshchagin’s work, testifying to his tireless work on developing his skills. The artist's journey through Japan was interrupted by the worsening political situation. Fearing being interned, Vereshchagin hastily left the country and returned to Russia.

In his speeches, he warned the government of the impending war, but as soon as it began, the sixty-two-year-old artist considered it his moral duty to go to the front. Vereshchagin left his beloved wife and three children at home and went into the thick of hostilities in order to again tell people the whole truth about the war, to show its true essence. He died along with Admiral Stepan Makarov on March 31, 1904, while aboard the flagship Petropavlovsk, which struck Japanese mines. It was death at a combat post in in every sense this word. Captain Nikolai Yakovlev, who miraculously escaped during the Petropavlovsk disaster, said that before the explosion he saw Vasily Vasilyevich recording in an album the sea panorama that opened up to his gaze.

Vereshchagin's death evoked responses around the world. Magazines and newspapers published articles about his life and work. At the end of 1904, a large posthumous exhibition of the artist’s paintings opened in St. Petersburg, and a couple of years later a museum named after him was built in Nikolaev. Vasily Vasilyevich became one of the first who was able to express in fine art the idea that war should not and cannot be a means of resolving international conflicts. He believed that education and science are the main engines of progress. All his life he remained a fierce enemy of “barbarism,” despotism and violence, a defender of the oppressed and disadvantaged. Ilya Repin said about Vereshchagin: “A colossal personality, truly heroic - a super-artist, a superman.”

Monument-bust on the station square in Vereshchagino

Based on materials from the site http://www.centre.smr.ru

Vasily Vereshchagin is known throughout the world as an unsurpassed battle painter. He painted from life, right on the battlefields. He created amazing documentary and artistic chronicles of military operations.

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Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (1842-1904) was born in the city of Cherepovets, Novgorod province, into the family of a district leader of the nobility.
In 1850, Vasily entered the Alexander Cadet Corps for minors, and from 1853 to 1860 he studied at the Naval Cadet Corps, upon completion of which he received the rank of naval midshipman and retired. Simultaneously with his studies in the cadet corps, he attended classes at the Drawing School of the St. Petersburg Society for the Encouragement of Artists (1858-1859).
In 1860 Vereshchagin entered the Imperial Academy of Arts.
In 1863-1864 At the invitation of marine painter Lev Feliksovich Lagorio travels through the Caucasus.
In 1864, Vereshchagin moved to Paris and began studying in the workshop of Jean-Leon Gerome at the Ecole des Beaux-arts.
In 1866, the painter exhibited for the first time at the Paris Salon.
In 1867, at the invitation of the commander of the Turkestan Military District, Konstantin Petrovich von Kaufman, Vereshchagin went to Turkestan. In 1868, with the rank of ensign, he took part in the defense of the Samarkand fortress and was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree, for military services.
In 1869, the “Turkestan Exhibition” was successfully held in St. Petersburg, where paintings, sketches and drawings created in Turkestan were exhibited.
In 1869, the artist again went to Turkestan, and in October 1870 he returned to St. Petersburg and was sent abroad to prepare the “Turkestan Series”. (In 1874, an album of paintings entitled “Turkestan. Sketches from life by V.V. Vereshchagin” was published in St. Petersburg).
In 1873, the “Turkestan Series,” which included 13 paintings, 81 sketches and 133 drawings, was presented at the artist’s first personal exhibition in London, and in 1874 – in St. Petersburg and Moscow. (In 1874, the “Turkestan Series” was purchased by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov for 92 thousand rubles in silver. At first, the “Turkestan Series” was exhibited at the Moscow Society of Art Lovers, and then at the Tretyakov Gallery.)
In 1874, the Imperial Academy of Arts awarded Vereshchagin the title of professor. However, the artist, who considered ranks in art inappropriate and even harmful, publicly renounces this title.
In 1874 Vereshchagin went to India. Visits Bombay, Madras, Agra, Delhi, Jaipur, Eastern Himalayas, as well as areas bordering Tibet (Kashmir and Ladakh).
In the spring of 1876, the painter returned to Paris and worked on two series of paintings based on materials (about one hundred and fifty sketches) brought from India.
In 1877-1878 Vereshchagin takes part in the Russian-Turkish war in the Balkans. After the completion of the Balkan campaign, the artist went to Paris and began work on the “Balkan Series”.
In 1879, Vereshchagin's personal exhibitions were held in London and Paris, where paintings from the Indian and Balkan series were presented.
In 1880, a personal exhibition and sale of sketches from the “Indian Series” took place in St. Petersburg. 78 sketches from this series were acquired by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov.
In 1881-1882 Vereshchagin's personal exhibitions are held in major European cities (Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, Dusseldorf, Brussels, Budapest), and in 1883 - in Moscow and St. Petersburg
In 1882-1883 Vereshchagin travels around India again.
In 1883 he went to Syria and Palestine, where he worked on the paintings of the “Palestine Series”.
The result of the trip to the Holy Land were more than 50 sketches and six paintings of the gospel cycle. However, the “Palestinian Series” was unkindly received by the Russian public and the public, because the artist's interpretation did not correspond to the canonical one. For this reason, the bulk of the works in the “Palestine Series” were sold abroad.
In 1885-1887 The artist’s personal exhibitions are successfully held in Vienna, Budapest, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Prague, Breslau, Leipzig, Konigsberg, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, and Liverpool.
In 1887, Vereshchagin began work on the “1812” series. For the first time, paintings from this series were presented in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1895-1896. In 1902, the entire series was acquired by the state for the Russian Museum, and later paintings transferred to the State Historical Museum.
In 1889-1891, personal exhibitions of the painter were held in major cities in the USA, and in 1895-1898. – in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Kyiv, Odessa, Paris, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Copenhagen, Leipzig, London.
In 1901, Vereshchagin was nominated for the first Nobel Prize peace.
In 1902, the painter again went to the USA, and in 1903 he traveled around Japan.
In 1904, the Russian-Japanese War began, and the artist went to the active army in the Far East.
Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin died on March 31, 1904. The battleship Petropavlovsk, on which he was, was blown up by a mine on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur.
The painter's paintings are exhibited in the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Historical Museum, State Russian Museum, Nikolaev art museum them. V.V. Vereshchagin, Irkutsk Regional Art Museum named after. V.P. Sukacheva, State Museum Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan.
The works of Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin are highly valued and often appear at international auctions. Including:
- “Portico of a church” – 314,500 British pounds (November 24, 2014, Sotheby’s);
- “The spy” – 1,049,250 British pounds (May 28, 2012, Sotheby’s);
- “The Adjutant” - 690,850 British pounds (November 26, 2012, Sotheby's);
- “Transportation of the wounded” – 937,250 British pounds (November 26, 2012, Sotheby’s);
- “Taj Mahal. Evening" (The Taj Mahal. Evening) - 2,281,250 British pounds (June 6, 2011, Sotheby's)
- “Crucifixion by the Romans” - 1,721,250 British pounds (November 28, 2011, Christie's)

Gallery of 42 paintings by Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin

Tartar from Orenburg prison Tartar from Orenburg prison
Portrait of Bacha Portrait of Bacha
Afghan Afghan
Nomadic road in the mountains of Alatau
Passage of Barskaun Passage of Barskaun
Sher-Dor Madrassah Sher-Dor Madrassah
Gur-Emir. Samarkand Gur-Emir. Samarkand
Baeggars in Samarkand Baeggars in Samarkand
Politicians in an Opium Den Politicians in an Opium Den
Apotheosis of War Apotheosis of War
Tamerlanovy gates Tamerlanovy gates
Old ruins Old ruins
The Doors of Timur The Doors of Timur
Selling a Slave Boy Selling a Slave Boy
Chinese Chinese
Mountain stream in Kashmir Mountain stream in Kashmir
Taj Mahal in Agra Taj Mahal in Agra
Taj Mahal Taj Mahal
Himalayas in the evening Himalayas in the evening
Sovar-a government messenger Sovar-a government messenger
Picket in the Balkan Mountains
Two Falcons Two Falcons
The Spy The Spy
Two Jews Two Jews
Russian hermit in the Jordan Russian hermit in the Jordan
Arab woman in Jerusalem Arab woman in Jerusalem
Crucifixion by the Romans Crucifixion by the Romans
The French in Moscow The French in Moscow
Napoleon in the Petroff Palace
Napoleon and Marshal Loriston Napoleon and Marshal Loriston
Attack Attack

Vereshchagin is often called a battle painter. But was he such in the sense that is implied in these words? The battle painter, depicting the war, shows beautiful, spectacular pictures of battles, vivid images of its victorious heroes, and the pitiful vanquished. All this is missing in the paintings of the great painter. Vasily Vereshchagin, with his specific means, fought for peace, showing the everyday unheroic horrors of war.

Psychology of war

We live in civilization is reality historical path and the historical consciousness of humanity from the very beginning of human civilization. There has never really been peace on Earth. It seems to be a utopia, a dream, and war is a reality and everyday occurrence on planet Earth. War as a stable and constant phenomenon is very scary. Vasily Vereshchagin showed the highest degree of manifestation of war.

People imagine war in reality - ideology, technology, heroes, anti-heroes, victims, calculations, army movements. We know a lot about wars. And, oddly enough, for centuries, people have been interested in winners and conquerors. There is something in human nature that contributes to the outbreak of war. Along with the seizure of material values, there is also another need for convincing leadership, to be higher, stronger than that Those who are nearby and even those who are further away have the power to assert themselves over others.

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (whose photo is presented above) reflected this terrible phenomenon in many of his series of works.

Episodes from the life of the artist

In Cherepovets, a third child is born into the family of the leader of the nobility Vereshchagin, who receives the name Vasily at baptism. The future is already prepared for him - he will become a military man. Vasily Vereshchagin, despite his reluctance to become a career military man, graduates with honors from the naval cadet corps, but quickly retires and begins to study painting in St. Petersburg and then in Paris.

War as such, apparently, had interested him since his youth. In 1865, he painted from life in the Caucasus, and the first unusual works of the Caucasian cycle appeared. It must be said right away that Vasily Vereshchagin never stopped; after painting one picture, he describes the phenomenon as a whole, with a series of paintings that make up an indivisible cycle.

Turkestan cycle

He spends 1868 in Central Asia, participates in battles, withstands the siege of Samarkand together with soldiers and officers, receives the Order of St. George, 4th class, for military services, and makes sketches. In 1871 in Munich he painted a cycle of thirteen paintings, as well as sketches and sketches, which he exhibited first in London and then in St. Petersburg. Everything about them was amazing - both the subjects and the new pictorial language.

The success was incredible. But the government refused to purchase this cycle, which should have been in the public domain and not owned by one private individual. It was bought by P. Tretyakov, who made a special extension to his gallery and presented the paintings to everyone. Everyone was stunned by the unexpected approach to the topic. Everything was new, bright both technically and plot-wise. The artist made a discovery of the unknown for the viewer.

India

In 1874 he went to India, where he would spend two years and visit Tibet. Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilyevich became deeply interested in India, and he visited it again in 1882-1883. He also lived in large cities - Bombay, Agra, Delhi. A trip to the Eastern Himalayas will take several months, and then a long and difficult journey to Kashmir and Ladakh. At the risk of his life, in winter, he climbs the mountains. He is even abandoned by his guides, but despite everything, terrible headaches, frost, he, like a man possessed, paints the majestic, virgin, never-before-seen pictures that open before him. The whitest mountain peaks, ultramarine sky, pink snow make you want to repeat the difficult climb. Many, about one hundred and fifty, landscapes, genre scenes, and portraits were written in India.

This is not surprising, since it is strikingly different from the usual Western world. These temples, their interior decoration, ritual dances, vendors on the streets - everything is different. And the artist Vasily Vereshchagin wants to show the ancient culture, dating back six thousand years, to the whole world.

Balkan series

When the Russian-Turkish War began, the artist immediately went into the active army in 1877. He takes part in battles and is seriously wounded - a stray bullet hit his thigh, and improper treatment led to gangrene. But she was stopped in time. Shipka, Plevna - Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin visited everywhere and brought sketches and objects from everywhere that could complement his impressions. In two years, he painted thirty paintings reflecting the main episodes of the war. This included the tragic third assault on Plevna, the terrible battles near Telish, and the victory near Shipka.

This series of paintings will always remind us of the mistakes of the command and the high price the Russians paid for the liberation of the Bulgarians from the Turkish yoke. He first exhibited this series together with the Indian one in London and Paris, and then it was shown for ten years in cities in Europe and America. In Russia it was exhibited twice in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Palestine and Syria

After this work, in 1884 he visited Syria and Palestine, where he would write works on Gospel themes.

But, as always, the artist will approach the work in a non-standard way, without earnest religious feeling. By freeing the work from the supernatural, it will cause a scandal. In Russia, the screening of this series was banned.

Barbarians

These paintings were part of the Turkestan series, but the artist wanted to highlight them separately, where he put the psychology of the soldier at the forefront and negated the importance of the commander.

Patriotic War of 1812

This series became a dominant theme from a certain time, around 1897. He turns to it constantly, changing plans and execution. This historical epic is composed of twenty paintings, but it remains unfinished. The first 17 works are devoted to the main episodes. They include the Battle of Borodino, the fire in Moscow, unsuccessful peace negotiations, and the death of the French army in the snow. And three paintings are dedicated to guerrilla warfare. Since he did not observe all this in nature, the work of imagination is difficult for him, which cannot be said when looking at his canvases. The portrait of Napoleon is unusually good, in the opinion of a Russian person, of course, completely debunking the image of a hero and a great man.

This series was first exhibited in Moscow and St. Petersburg in 1895-1896. No one expressed a desire to buy it. And only in 1902, under public pressure, the government bought it and placed it in the Russian Museum. We formed all our visual views on the Patriotic War of 1812 thanks to the brilliant works of Vasily Vereshchagin.

Russian North

Unexpectedly, the artist becomes interested in the history of Russian architecture. The painter works in Yaroslavl, Rostov, Kostroma, deeply immersed in Russian antiquity. And all this goes in parallel with work on the theme of the 12th year war. Vasily Vereshchagin travels to the Russian north. He visits Pinega, Northern Dvina, White Sea, Solovki. His landscapes are full of peace and tranquility that entered his soul. He encounters the art of peasants and sees ancient wooden churches. And sketches appear depicting Russian wooden architecture. It makes a deep impression on him. He builds himself a house in Moscow that looks like a Russian hut. It became a workshop in which Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin painted paintings.

Japanese series

The trip to Japan takes place on the eve of the Russo-Japanese War. But the artist doesn’t know about this yet. Unusual shapes, new ceremonies, different food and the way of eating it cannot but stun Vereshchagin, especially since the culture of engraving, artistic varnishes, metal and bone work is so highly developed there. The laconicism inherent in Japanese art simply cannot help but captivate the artist. But with the gaze of a cosmopolitan, he reflects in his works the most characteristic and vibrant things - temples, Japanese women in kimonos, beggars, a priest.

It was not by chance that Vereshchagin traveled all over the world. He perceived all peoples as a single community, each of which contributed to the development of civilization and culture. The neglect of Westerners, who carried out colonial wars and the enslavement of “inferior” races and peoples, and their brutal exploitation, could not help but worry the pacifist artist. Ex oriente lux must be borne by Russia, passing on its experience to developing civilizations and at the same time developing itself, without enslaving anyone. All the paintings of Vasily Vereshchagin speak about this.

At the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War, the artist went to the Pacific Ocean. He died on the battleship along with Admiral Makarov in a mine explosion. Such was the artist Vasily Vereshchagin. His biography is extraordinary, and his thoughts are in tune with our time.

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin is one of the largest Russian realist artists. His works gained national fame, and in the world of art his fame as an outstanding battle painter was firmly established. However, the range of Vasily Vasilyevich’s creativity was much wider than battle themes. The artist significantly enriched the historical, everyday, portrait and landscape painting of his era. For his contemporaries, Vereshchagin was not only a famous artist, but also a desperate revolutionary, breaking with generally accepted canons both in his work and in life. “Vereshchagin is not just a painter, he is something more,” wrote art critic, ideological leader of the Wanderers Ivan Kramskoy. “Despite the interest of his paintings, the author himself is a hundred times more instructive.”

Vasily Vasilyevich was born in Cherepovets on October 14, 1842 in the family of a landowner. He spent the first eight years of his life on his father’s estate near the village of Pertovka. The future artist's large family lived on corvee labor and dues from serfs. And although Vereshchagin’s parents were known among the landowners as relatively humane people, Vasily himself often observed scenes of oppression of serfs and lordly tyranny. The impressionable boy was sensitive to the humiliation of people and the violation of human dignity.

After graduating from the Alexander Cadet Corps, Vasily entered the Naval Corps in St. Petersburg. It should be noted that during the entire period of his studies, Vereshchagin was among the best students, and he graduated from the educational institution in first place in terms of points. Here the strengthening will of the future artist was expressed; in the struggle for primacy, he had to sacrifice rest and entertainment, and regularly lacked sleep. However, the knowledge gained, especially fluency in French, German and English, was very useful to him in subsequent years.

In 1860, Vasily Vasilyevich was promoted to midshipman. A brilliant career as a naval officer opened before him. However, while still studying at the Marine Corps, Vereshchagin firmly decided to become an artist. He had a desire to draw since childhood; from 1858 he regularly attended the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. Vereshchagin's desire to leave the service encountered serious difficulties. Firstly, his parents rebelled against this act in the most decisive manner. The mother said that painting was humiliating for a representative of an old noble family, and the father even promised to refuse financial assistance to his son. And secondly, the Navy Department did not want to part with one of the most capable graduates of the Naval Corps. Contrary to the will of his parents and superiors, Vasily Vasilyevich left his military career, entering the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1860.

V.V.Vereshchagin - student of the Academy of Arts 1860

The academic leadership immediately allocated a much-needed financial subsidy to Vereshchagin, and he devoted himself to his favorite work with all his spiritual fervor and diligence. Already in the first years of his studies, Vasily showed remarkable success; his drawings regularly received encouragement and awards. However, the longer Vereshchagin studied at the Academy, the stronger his dissatisfaction with local “studies” matured. The prevailing education system was based on the traditions of classicism, which included the obligatory idealization of nature. Students in their works were supposed to address themes of antiquity, religion and mythology. Even figures and events of Russian history had to be depicted in an ancient manner. Meanwhile, the situation in Russia at that time was distinguished by the exceptional severity of socio-political life. The crisis of the serf system intensified, and a revolutionary situation arose. The autocracy was forced to prepare and implement peasant reform. Many vivid paintings, poems, and dramatic works appeared in the country, exposing the unbearable living conditions of the urban poor and peasants. However, training at the Academy of Arts continued to remain divorced from the progressive views of the era, which caused discontent among some members of the artistic youth, including Vereshchagin.

Vasily Vereshchagin during his graduation from the Naval Cadet Corps. Photos from 1859 - 1860

Vasily Vereshchagin during his first trip to the Caucasus

The young painter went to the Caucasus, eager to paint national images, scenes of folk life and southern nature, unusual for his eyes. Along the Georgian Military Road, Vasily Vasilyevich reached Tiflis, where he lived for more than a year. He earned his living by giving drawing lessons, and devoted all his free hours to studying the peoples of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, trying to capture everything interesting and characteristic with sketches. A truthful reflection of real life, passing a “sentence” on it - this is what Vasily Vasilyevich began to see as the meaning and purpose of art.

Drawings from this period depict the savagery of local religious customs and expose religious fanaticism, which takes advantage of the ignorance and darkness of the people.

At the end of 1865, Vereshchagin visited St. Petersburg, and then went back to Paris, where he again began his studies with diligence. From his travels in the Caucasus, he brought back a huge number of pencil drawings, which he showed to Jerome and Alexandre Bida, another French painter who took part in his training. Exotic and original paintings from the life of peoples little known in Europe made a favorable impression on skilled artists. However, this was not enough for Vasily Vasilyevich; he wanted to present his work to the mass audience.

Vasily Vasilyevich spent the summer of 1866 at the estate of his deceased uncle - the village of Lyubets, located in Cherepovets district. The outwardly calm life of the estate, located near the Sheksna River, was disturbed by the heart-rending cries of the crowds of barge haulers pulling merchant barges. The impressionable Vereshchagin was amazed by the tragic pictures he saw in this place from the life of ordinary people turned into draft animals. Only in our country, according to the artist, did barge labor become a real disaster, acquiring a mass character. On this topic, Vereshchagin decided to paint a huge picture, for which he made sketches of barge haulers in oil paints, and created sketches with a brush and pencil - several barge hauler teams of two hundred and fifty to three hundred people, following in a train one after another. Despite the fact that in concept Vereshchagin’s canvas is significantly inferior to Repin’s famous painting “Barge Haulers on the Volga,” it is worth noting that Vasily Vasilyevich conceived the theme of the painting several years before Ilya Efimovich (1870-1873). In addition, Vereshchagin, unlike Repin, tried to reveal the drama of the barge hauler’s fate not by psychological, but by epic means. The large-scale work, aimed at attracting public attention to one of the social ills of Russia at that time, was not completed. The received inheritance ended, the artist had to devote all his time and energy to odd jobs. In the history of art, only sketches and expressive studies of barge haulers, created directly from life, have remained forever.

In mid-1867, Vasily Vasilyevich set off on his new journey - to Turkestan. The artist wrote about the reasons that prompted him to leave home: “I went because I wanted to find out that there is a real war, about which I heard and read a lot, near which I lived in the Caucasus.” At this time, active military operations of the Russian army began against the Bukhara Emirate. The events that took place interested Vereshchagin not at all from the side of tactics or strategy of battles, but only as a socio-political event in the conditions of which the people of each of the warring parties fight, live and suffer. At that moment, Vasily Vasilyevich did not yet have any anti-militarist convictions, any ideas or established opinions about the war. He was invited by the commander of the Russian troops, Konstantin Kaufman, and held the rank of ensign with him.

Samarkand, 1869

In mid-spring 1868, Vereshchagin learned that the Emir of Bukhara, who was in Samarkand, declared a “holy war” on Russia. Following the army, the artist rushed towards the enemy. Vasily Vasilyevich did not see the massacre that unfolded on May 2, 1868 on the outskirts of Samarkand, but shuddered before its tragic consequences: “I have never seen a battlefield before, and my heart bled.” Vereshchagin stopped in Samarkand, occupied by Russian troops, and began to study the city. However, when the main forces under the command of Kaufman left Samarkand, continuing the fight with the emir, the city's garrison was attacked by numerous troops of the Shakhrisabz Khanate. The local population also rebelled, and Russian soldiers had to lock themselves in the citadel. The situation was catastrophic, the opponents outnumbered our forces eighty times. Vereshchagin had to change his brush to a gun and join the ranks of the defenders. With amazing courage and energy, he participated in the defense of the citadel, repeatedly led soldiers into hand-to-hand combat, and participated in reconnaissance forays. Once a bullet split the artist’s gun, another time it knocked his hat off his head, and in addition, in the battle he was wounded in the leg. His composure and courage created him a high reputation among the soldiers and officers of the detachment. The Russian soldiers survived, and after the siege was lifted, Vereshchagin was awarded the St. George Cross of the fourth degree. Vasily Vasilyevich constantly wore it. By the way, he resolutely refused all subsequent awards.

Apotheosis of War, 1871

The Samarkand defense strengthened Vereshchagin's will and character. The horrors of battles, the suffering and death of people, the looks of the dying, the atrocities of enemies who cut off the heads of prisoners - all this left an indelible mark on the artist’s mind, tormented and worried him. In the winter of 1868, the artist visited Paris and then arrived in St. Petersburg. In the northern capital, Vereshchagin developed active activities in organizing and holding the Turkestan exhibition. Thanks to Kaufman's support, mineralogical, zoological and ethnographic collections from Central Asia were exhibited in the city. Here Vereshchagin first presented a number of his drawings and paintings. The exhibition was a great success, and the press started talking about the artist’s works.
After the exhibition closed, Vasily Vasilyevich again went to Turkestan, this time along the Siberian highways. A trip through Siberia allowed him to see the difficult life of political exiles and convicts. In Central Asia, Vereshchagin constantly traveled and worked tirelessly. He traveled around Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, drove along the Chinese border, visited Samarkand again, and visited Kokand. During his travels, the artist repeatedly participated in battles with bandits of local sultans. And again Vereshchagin showed extraordinary courage and courage, exposing himself to mortal danger during hand-to-hand fights.

The famous collector and philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov, visiting Munich, visited Vasily Vasilyevich’s workshop. Vereshchagin's works made a strong impression on Tretyakov, and he immediately wanted to buy them. However, Vereshchagin wanted to organize a show to the general public before selling the paintings, to test his artistic and social beliefs. An exhibition of Vereshchagin's Turkestan works was opened in 1873 in London at the Crystal Palace. This was the artist's first individual exhibition. The works surprised the audience. Unusual and new in content, powerful and expressive in artistic-realistic form, breaking with the conventions of salon-academic art. The exhibition was a great and, for the Russian artist, an unprecedented success among the English public. Magazines and newspapers published praising reviews.

Mortally wounded, 1873

At the beginning of 1874, Vereshchagin presented Turkestan paintings in St. Petersburg. To attract low-income audiences, he established free admission several days a week. And this exhibition was a huge success, causing lively responses from leading figures of Russian culture. Mussorgsky, based on the plot of one of Vereshchagin’s paintings, wrote the musical ballad “Forgotten,” and Garshin composed a passionate poem about the unknown soldiers who died in this war. Kramskoy wrote: “This is something amazing. I don’t know if there is an artist equal to him at the present time here or abroad.”

"Attacked by surprise", 1871

The atmosphere of persecution became so unbearable for Vereshchagin that, without deciding the fate of his Turkestan paintings, he left St. Petersburg before the exhibition closed, setting off on a long trip to India. Afterwards, he instructed his authorized representative to sell this series, subject to the buyer’s compliance with several mandatory conditions, such as: preservation of the paintings in their homeland, their availability to the public, and the continuity of the series. As a result, Tretyakov bought the Turkestan works, placing them in his famous gallery.

With Vasily Vasilyevich’s departure from Russia, his conflict with government circles did not fade away. A new impetus was the demonstrative refusal of Vereshchagin, who was in India, from the professorship awarded to him in 1874 by the Imperial Academy of Arts. Vereshchagin motivated his refusal by the fact that he considers all awards and titles in art unnecessary. A number of Academy artists took this as a personal insult. The severity of the situation lay in the fact that the Academy of Arts, which was essentially one of the court institutions headed by members of the imperial family, was at that time experiencing a deep crisis. By cultivating the outdated views of late classicism, the Academy lost its authority. Many advanced Russian artists moved away from it. Vereshchagin's public refusal further diminished the prestige of this government institution. The authorities tried to suppress discussion of Vasily Vasilyevich’s action in print media. It was forbidden to publish articles criticizing the Academy, much less expressing solidarity with Vereshchagin.

Horseman warrior in Jaipur. Around 1881

The artist lived in India for two years, visited many regions, and traveled to Tibet. At the beginning of 1876 he returned to France, and in 1882-1883 he again traveled around India, since the materials collected during the first trip were not enough. As in his previous travels, Vereshchagin carefully studied folk life and visited cultural and historical monuments. Vasily Vasilyevich worked sparing neither health nor strength. He had to repel attacks from wild animals, drown in a river, freeze on mountain peaks, and suffer from severe tropical malaria. The culmination of the Indian cycle was the revealing film “The Suppression of the Indian Uprising by the British,” showing the cruelest scene of the execution of rebellious Indian peasants from cannons by the British colonialists.

At the beginning of 1877, the Russian-Turkish war began. Having learned about this, the artist immediately abandoned his begun paintings in Paris and went to the active army. Without government pay, but with the right of free movement, he became one of the adjutants of the Commander-in-Chief of the Danube Army. Vasily Vasilyevich took part in a number of battles and witnessed many battles. Every free minute he grabbed a pencil and paints; he often had to work under Turkish bullets. To questions from friends about why he voluntarily participates in battles and risks his life, the artist answered: “It is impossible for society to give pictures of a real war, looking at the battle through binoculars... You need to feel everything and do it yourself, participate in assaults, attacks, victories and defeats, experience cold, hunger, wounds, illnesses... You must not be afraid to sacrifice your meat and blood, otherwise the pictures will not be the same.

Before the attack. Near Plevna

On June 8, 1877, while participating on the Danube as a volunteer in the attack of a small destroyer against a huge Turkish steamer, Vasily Vasilyevich was seriously wounded and almost died. Not yet recovered, the artist rushed to Plevna, where Russian troops stormed the stronghold for the third time. The Battle of Plevna became the basis for a number of famous paintings by the artist. At the end of the war, at the headquarters of Commander-in-Chief Vereshchagin they asked what award or order he would like to receive. “Of course, none!” - answered the artist. The Russian-Turkish War brought him great personal grief. His beloved younger brother Sergei died, and his other brother, Alexander, was seriously wounded. The loss of about forty of his sketches was also a nuisance for Vereshchagin. This happened due to the negligence of a number of people whom he instructed to send the work to Russia.

Snow trenches (Russian positions at Shipka Pass)

Due to difficult emotional experiences, Vasily Vasilyevich developed a serious nervous disorder, which led to internal doubts. In a message to Stasov in April 1882, he said: “There will be no more battle paintings - that’s it! I take my work too close to my heart, I weep for the grief of every killed and wounded person. In Russia, in Prussia, in Austria, the revolutionary orientation of my war scenes was recognized. Okay, let it not be the revolutionaries who draw, but I’ll find other subjects.” In 1884, Vasily Vasilyevich went to Palestine and Syria. After the trip, he created a series of paintings on Gospel subjects that were completely unusual for him. However, the artist interpreted them in a very original way, completely different from the traditions accepted in European fine art. It must be added that Vereshchagin was a materialist and an atheist, did not believe in supernatural miracles and mysticism. As a result of long reflection, he tried to present the gospel legends materialistically, which the church recognized as sheer sacrilege. The Catholic clergy were terribly “offended” by the paintings: archbishops wrote entire appeals against them, groups of fanatics were looking for the artist, wanting to settle scores with him, and one monk doused the paintings “The Resurrection of Christ” and “The Holy Family” with acid, almost destroying them. In Russia, all evangelical paintings by Vasily Vasilyevich were banned.

Workshop of Vasily Vereshchagin in his house in Nizhnye Kotly. 1890s

In 1890, the artist’s dream of returning to his homeland came true. He settled in a new house on the outskirts of the capital, but lived there only briefly, going on a trip around Russia. As in his youth, he was interested in monuments, the life of the population, nature, folk types, and ancient Russian applied art. Among the paintings of the Russian cycle (1888-1895), the most outstanding were the portraits of “unremarkable Russians” - the images of ordinary people from the people.

Napolen on the Borodino field

In 1887, Vasily Vasilyevich began a new monumental series dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812. The twenty paintings he created presented a truly majestic epic full of patriotic pathos about the Russian people, their national pride and courage, hatred of conquerors and devotion to the Motherland. Vereshchagin did a tremendous amount of research, studying many memoirs of his contemporaries and historical materials written in different European languages. He personally explored the field of the Battle of Borodino, became acquainted with the relics of the era, and created a lot of sketches and sketches. The fate of the series of paintings about 1812 remained unresolved for many years. The paintings, intended for large palace halls and museums, did not attract private patrons. The government looked at Vereshchagin's new works with hostility and distrust, also stubbornly refusing to buy all the paintings at once, and the artist did not agree to sell one or two from a complete and indivisible series. Only on the eve of the centenary of the Patriotic War, under pressure from public opinion, the tsarist government was forced to purchase the paintings.

Vereshchagin at his easel, 1902

In his speeches, he warned the government of the impending war, but as soon as it began, the sixty-two-year-old artist considered it his moral duty to go to the front. Vereshchagin left his beloved wife and three children at home and went into the thick of hostilities in order to again tell people the whole truth about the war, to show its true essence. He died along with Admiral Stepan Makarov on March 31, 1904, while aboard the flagship Petropavlovsk, which struck Japanese mines. It was death on duty in the full sense of the word. Captain Nikolai Yakovlev, who miraculously escaped during the Petropavlovsk disaster, said that before the explosion he saw Vasily Vasilyevich recording in an album the sea panorama that opened up to his gaze.

Monument-bust on the station square in Vereshchagino

Based on materials from the site http://www.centre.smr.ru

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