26 1842 October, the
Vasily Vereshchagin, artist and writer, was born in Cherepovets. He was also the author of "The Apotheosis of War."
During my various travels around the world, I was particularly struck by the fact that even in our time, people kill each other everywhere under all sorts of pretexts and in all sorts of ways. Mass murder is still called war, and the murder of individuals is called capital punishment.
He graduated from the Cadet Corps and studied painting in St. Petersburg and Paris. In 1867, Turkestan Governor-General Kaufman invited him to join his staff as an artist, and Vereshchagin accepted. He survived the siege of Samarkand with a group of soldiers. He demonstrated heroism: "Vereshchagin, despite a hail of stones and deadly rifle fire, rushed forward with a rifle in his hands and inspired the brave defenders of the citadel with his heroic example." He received the Order of St. George, 4th degree.
Before me, as before an artist, is War, and I strike at it with as much strength as I have; whether my blows are strong and effective is another question, a question of my talent, but I strike with all my might and without mercy.
Traveled around Semirechye и Western ChinaHe saw the aftermath of how the Bogdykhan's troops pacified the Dungan rebels—ruins, ashes, and piles of human bones. The idea for "Apotheosis of War" may have been inspired by a story about the ruler of Kashgar who executed a German traveler and ordered his head placed on a pyramid of skulls. Vereshchagin would later inscribe the following on the painting's frame:
Dedicated to all the great conquerors - past, present and future
His "Turkestan series"—about what they saw and felt in Central Asia—was not initially appreciated by everyone. Some considered it unpatriotic. Perov, Repin was perceived as alien to Russian art. Later, the opinion prevailed Kramskoy - this is an absolute success of the new school.
Then came India, Tibet, the USA, the "Trilogy of Executions," and experiments with Impressionism. It all ended with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War. Vereshchagin went to the front and died in 1904 on the battleship Petropavlovsk, which struck a mine.
All my life I have loved the sun and wanted to paint the sun... But the fury of war haunts me again and again