Vasily Vereshchagin

(1860s) Vereshchagin was born at Cherepovets, Novgorod Governorate, Russia, in 1842 as the middle of three brothers. His father was a landowner of noble birth, while his mother was of common origin and had Tatar roots. When he was eight years old, he was sent to Tsarskoe Selo to enter the Alexander Cadet Corps. Three years later, he entered the Naval Cadet Corps at St. Petersburg, making his first voyage in 1858. He served on the frigate , which sailed to Denmark, France, and Egypt. Vereshchagin graduated first in his list at the naval school, but left the service immediately to begin the study of drawing in earnest. Two years later, in 1863, he won a medal from the Imperial Academy of Arts for his Ulysses Slaying the Suitors. In 1864, he proceeded to Paris, where he studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme, though he dissented widely from his master's methods. ==Travels in Central Asia and related works==

In the Paris Salon of 1866, Vereshchagin exhibited a drawing of Dukhobors chanting their Psalms. In the next year, he was invited to accompany General Konstantin Petrovich Kaufman's expedition in Central Asia and Turkestan. He was granted the rank of ensign. His heroism at the siege of Samarkand from 2–8 June 1868 resulted an award of the Cross of St. George (4th Class). He was an indefatigable traveller, returning to St. Petersburg in late 1868, to Paris in 1869, back to St. Petersburg later in the year, and then back to Turkestan via Siberia at the end of 1869. In 1871, Vereshchagin established an atelier in Munich, German Empire. He gave a solo exhibition of his works (later referred to as his "Turkestan Series") at the Crystal Palace in London, United Kingdom in 1873. He gave another exhibition of his works in St. Petersburg in 1874, where two of his paintings, namely, The Apotheosis of War, dedicated "to all conquerors, past, present and to come," and Left Behind, the picture of a dying soldier deserted by his fellows, were denied a showing on the grounds that they portrayed the Russian military in a poor light. In late 1874, Vereshchagin departed in Northern and Eastern Asia for an extensive tour of the Himalayas, British India, Mongolia, and Tibet, spending over two years in travel. He returned to Paris in late 1876. File:Люлли (цыган).jpg|Lyully (Gypsy) (1867–1868) File:Портрет мужчины в белой чалме.jpg|Portrait of a man in a white turban (1867) File:Мальчик-узбек.jpg|Uzbek boy (1867–1868) File:Wassilij Wassiljewitsch Wereschtschagin 001.jpg|Dervishes in festive outfits (1869–1870) File:Калмыцкая молельня.jpg|Kalmyk chapel (1869–1870) File:1871 Vereshchagin Apotheose des Krieges anagoria.JPG|The Apotheosis of War (1871) File:Продажа ребенка-невольника.jpg|Sale of a child-slave (1872). A rich Turkish man examines a naked boy, before buying him. File:Мулла Рахим и мулла Керим по дороге на базар ссорятся.jpg|Mullah Rahim and Mullah Kerim on his way to the bazaar are quarreling (1873) File:Главная улица в Самарканде с высоты цитадели ранним утром.jpg|Main Street in Samarkand, from the height of the citadel in the early morning (1869–1870) File:Мавзолей Шах-и-Зинда в Самарканде.jpg|Shah-i-Zinda Mausoleum in Samarkand (1869–1870) File:Мавзолей Гур-Эмир. Самарканд.jpg|Gur-e-Amir mausoleum. Samarkand (1869–1870) File:1872 Vereshchagin Triumphierend anagoria.JPG|They are triumphant (1872). Registan. The Emir of Bukhara and the city's notables watch how the heads of Russian soldiers are impaled on poles. File:Медресе Шир-Дор на площади Регистан в Самарканде.jpg|Sher-Dor Madrasa on Registan Square in Samarkand (1869–1870) File:1872 Vereshchagin Praesentation der Trophaeen anagoria.JPG|Presentation of the trophies (1872) File:Факир.jpg|Fakir (1874–1876) File:Буддийский_храм_в_Дарджилинге._Сикким.jpg|Buddhist temple in Darjiling. Sikkim (1874) File:Развалины китайской кумирни. Ак-Кент.jpg|Ruins of Chinese sanctuary. Ak-Kent (Kazakhstan) (1869–1870) File:Китайский домик.jpg|Chinese house (1869–1870) File:Vereshchagin-Ruins-of-the-Theater-in-Chuguchak.jpg|Ruins of a Theater in Chuguchak (1869–1870) File:Садовая калитка в Чугучаке.jpg|A Garden gate in Chuguchak (1869–1870) File:Vereshchagin-Ruins-in-Chuguchak.JPG|Ruins in Chuguchak (1869–1870) File:Развалины Чугучака.jpg|Ruins in Chuguchak (1869–1870) File:Китайская палатка.jpg|Chinese tent (1869–1870) File:Афганец.jpg|Afghan (1868) File:Афганец (2).jpg|Afghan (1869–1870) File:После удачи.jpg|After a success (1868) File:После неудачи.jpg|After an unsuccess (1868) File:Богатый киргизский охотник с соколом.jpg|A rich Kyrgyz hunter with a falcon (1871) File:Киргизские кибитки на реке Чу.jpg|Kyrgyz yurts on the Chu River (1869–1870) File:Внутренность юрты богатого киргиза.jpg|Inside the tent of a rich Kyrgyz (1869–1870) File:Ойратский (калмыцкий) лама.jpg|Oirat (Kalmyk) wearing a ritual headdress (1869–1870) File:В горах Алатау.jpg|In the Alatau Mountains (1869–1870) File:В горах Алатау 2.jpg|In the Alatau Mountains (1869–1870) File:Кочевая дорога в горах Алатау.jpg|Nomadic road in the Alatau Mountains (1869–1870) File:Перекочевка киргизов 2.jpg|Kyrgyz migration (1869–1870) File:Проход Барскаун.jpg|'''' (1869–1870) File:Дети племени солонов.jpg|The children of the Solon tribe (1869–1870) File:Двери Тимура (Тамерлана).jpg|''Timur's (Tamerlane's) doors'' (1872) File:Опиумоеды.jpg|Opium-eaters (1868) File:Политики в опиумной лавочке. Ташкент.jpg|Politicians in opium shop. Tashkent (1870) File:У крепостной стены.jpg|By the Fortress Wall. "Let Them Enter" (1871) File:Wassilij Wassiljewitsch Wereschtschagin 002.jpg|'''' (1871) File:Парламентёры.jpg|Parlimentaires. "Surrender!" — "Get the hell out!" ==Russo-Turkish War==

With the start of the Second Russo-Turkish War, Vereshchagin left Paris and returned to active service with the Imperial Russian Army. He was present at the crossing of the Shipka Pass and at the siege of Plevna (1877), where his brother was killed. He was dangerously wounded during the preparations for the crossing of the Danube near Rustchuk. At the conclusion of the war, he acted as secretary to General Skobelev at San Stefano. ==World fame==

After the war, Vereshchagin settled in Munich, where he produced his war pictures so rapidly that he was freely accused of employing assistants. The sensational subjects of his pictures, and their didactic aim, namely, the promotion of peace by a representation of the horrors of war, attracted a large section of the public not usually interested in art to the series of exhibitions of his pictures in Paris in 1881, and subsequently in London, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, and other cities. He traveled again to India in 1882–1883. '' (1884) He aroused much controversy by his series of three pictures: firstly, of a Roman execution (the Crucifixion by the Romans (1887)); secondly, Suppression of the Indian Revolt by the English; and, thirdly, of the execution of Nihilists in St Petersburg. In 1887, Vereshchagin defended himself in The Magazine of Art by saying that if there were another rebellion then the British would use this method again. A journey to the Ottoman provinces of Syria and Palestine in 1884 furnished him with an equally discussed set of subjects from the New Testament. ==Last years==

in 1898–1899 Vereshchagin was in the Far East during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, and was with the Russian troops in Manchuria during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. ==Legacy==

• The town of Vereshchagino in Perm Krai is named after him, as well as a minor planet, 3410 Vereshchagin, discovered by Soviet astronomer Lyudmila Zhuravlyova in 1978. • Vereshchagin Street in Cherepovets is named after Vasily Vereshchagin, also there are a historic house museum and a monument to Vereshchagin in Cherepovets. • He is a distant relative of the Czech rock singer Aleš Brichta. The Apotheosis of War was used by Czech heavy metal band Arakain as the cover art for the album Farao. == Gallery ==

File:Vereshchagin Napoleon near Borodino.jpg|Napoleon near Borodino File:Конец Бородинского боя.jpg|The end of Borodino battle File:Перед Москвой в ожидании депутации бояр.jpg|''Before Moscow waiting for the Boyars' Deputation'' File:В покоренной Москве.jpg|In Defeated Moscow File:Through the fire by Vereschagin.jpg|Through the fire File:In Petrovsky palace (Waiting for peace) by V.Vereschagin.jpg|In Petrovsky Palace (Waiting for peace) File:Vaszilij Vasziljevics Verescsagin orosz festőművész. Fortepan 25843.jpg|Vereshchagin with his wife Lydia and son Vasily at the In Petrovsky Palace painting. 1895–1896 File:Peaceatallcosts.JPG|Napoleon and general Lauriston (Peace at all costs!) File:На большой дороге. Отступление, бегство.jpg|On the high road. Retreat, flight File:The Attack by Vereshchagin (1887-1895, GIM).jpg|Fix Bayonets! Hooray! Hooray! (the Battle of Krasnoi) File:Night Bivouac of Great Army.jpg|Night Bivouac of Great Army File:Winners, by Vasily Vereshchagin (1878).jpg|Victors File:Перед атакой. Под Плевной.jpg|Before the attack. At Plevna File:After the attack. Plevna, 1877-1878.jpg|After the Attack 1878 Vereshchagin Schlachtfeld am Schipkapass anagoria.JPG|The battlefield at Shipka (Skobelev at Shipka) File:Artlib gallery-13875-o.jpg|Defeated. Requiem File:Vasily Vasilevich Vereshchagin, The Spy.jpg|The Spy File:Пикет на Дунае.jpg|Picket on the Danube File:Два ястреба (Башибузуки).jpg|Two hawks (Bashi-bazouk) File:В турецкой покойницкой .jpg|In a Turkish mortuary File:Василий В. Верещагин - Aдъютант.jpg|The Adjutant File:The Moscow Cathedrals and river Moskva (in the spring)).jpg|The Moscow Cathedrals and river Moskva (in the spring) File:O Soldado Esquecido.jpg|Eagles (A forgotten soldier) File:Верещагин Шпион Эпизод из исп-ам войны 1901.jpg|Spy (Spanish–American War) File:Василий В. Верещагин - Допрос дезертира (1901).jpg|Interrogation of a deserter File:Шинтоистский храм в Никко.jpg|Shinto shrine in Nikkō File:Храм в Никко.jpg|Shrine in Nikkō File:Японка.jpg|Japanese woman ==See also==