Vasily Vereshchagin was a Russian painter during the late 19th century who was celebrated for depicting battle scenes in his work. He became one of the first Russian artists to be recognized worldwide.
Art Mirroring Life
At 8 years Vereshchagin was sent to the Cadet Corps and graduated first in his naval school class. He left the service to pursue his art, but traveled with a military expedition to Turkestan. He re-entered the service for the Russo-Turkish War after which he rapidly produced pictures of war scenes. The images below lean more toward his scenes of Imperial rule in British India and his visit to Turkestan (much softer and more peaceful than his war imagery).
Some of Vereshchagin’s battle scenes were so graphic that they were never printed or exhibited.
Not So Warlike
For someone so celebrated for his battle scenes, Vereshchagin is actually quite adept at portraying peaceful the peaceful aspects of life in Turkestan and the beautiful horses in Jaipur.