Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilyevich

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin

was born on October 14 (26), 1842, in Cherepovets (now in the Vologda region) into the family of a local noble leader.

Even during his studies, his talent for painting became evident—he attended an art school and got acquainted with artists. After graduating from the cadet corps, Vereshchagin did not join the navy. In 1860, against his parents' wishes, he enrolled in the Academy of Arts. At the same time, he tried his hand at literary creativity: he submitted his "Tale of an Old Hunter" to the Petersburg newspaper "Golos." After the editorial review stating, "Please, this is such rubbish..."—Vereshchagin temporarily abandoned writing.

Most of V.V. Vereshchagin's life was spent in expeditions, military campaigns, travels, and journeys. He studied and lived in St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Munich, Paris, and in the later years of his life in Moscow. He participated in long expeditions and travels across the Caucasus, Turkestan, western China, Semirechye, India, and Palestine. He traveled throughout Europe and Russia. He visited the Philippines and Cuba, Tian Shan, America, and Japan.

Vereshchagin's first major journey took place in 1863— to the Caucasus. Here he stayed in the city of Shusha in Nagorno-Karabakh, observing the lives of local peoples, studying their rituals and traditions, and painting sketches.

In 1867, Vereshchagin took a position as a staff artist for the Turkestan Governor-General Konstantin von Kaufman. The painter arrived in Samarkand in May 1868. Soon, the fortress with Russian troops was besieged: the local inhabitants revolted. Vereshchagin participated in the battle against the Bukharians and even received the Order of St. George of the 4th class for bravery.

The paintings and graphics he brought from Turkestan were presented in 1869 in the capital. Most of the works were executed in a sketchy manner. Thanks to Vereshchagin's paintings, visitors saw an unknown Central Asia: a slave market, impoverished opium addicts, and women covered from head to toe in garments.

After the exhibition, Vereshchagin went back to Turkestan. This time, his route went through Siberia, Kyrgyz lands, and Western China. In Kyrgyzstan, the artist stayed with his friend Baytik Kanaev, whom he had met in St. Petersburg at an official reception. Some of the paintings were created in his rich yurt: he depicted its interior, accurately capturing the weaving of the ceiling and the intricate patterns on the carpets. Vereshchagin created portraits of ordinary residents, depicting scenes from their lives. He collected numerous local ornaments, sketching patterns that adorned the weapons of local warriors. In search of colorful landscapes, he traveled to the mountains near Issyk-Kul, to the Boom Gorge, and to the passes of the Alatau mountain range. In his works, the artist used fine brushstrokes and bright, saturated shades that better conveyed the heat of Asian landscapes.

In 1871, Vereshchagin went to Munich, where he worked on paintings for the "Turkestan Series." He held exhibitions in 1871-1874, which were immensely successful in Europe. In 1873, he organized a personal exhibition of paintings at the Crystal Palace in London.

In the spring of 1874, he returned to Russia and held an exhibition in St. Petersburg, which faced criticism from Emperor Alexander II and his entourage.

From 1874 to 1876, Vereshchagin lived in India, also traveling to Tibet, and in the spring of 1876, he returned to Paris.

With the onset of the Russo-Turkish War in 1877, he enlisted as a volunteer in the army, receiving the position of aide-de-camp with the ability to move freely among the troops. In the same year, Vereshchagin was severely wounded aboard the destroyer "Shchuka."

In 1878-1879, in Paris, the artist worked on paintings that became known as the "Balkan Series."

From 1882 to 1884, Vereshchagin traveled again through India, Syria, and Palestine.

In the summer of 1894, Vasily Vereshchagin traveled and painted the Russian North (White Sea, Northern Dvina, Solovki).

In 1896, the artist worked on a series of paintings dedicated to the War of 1812.

In 1899, he spent the summer in Crimea. In 1901, he visited the Philippine Islands, in 1902 he went to the USA and Cuba. And in 1903, he visited Japan.

Vereshchagin's authority in Europe as a "fighter against war" was such that in 1901 he was nominated for the first Nobel Peace Prize.

When the Russo-Japanese War began, Vereshchagin went to the front. He died on March 31 (April 13), 1904, along with Admiral S.O. Makarov when the battleship "Petropavlovsk" was blown up by a mine at the outer raid of Port Arthur.