Timur’s (Tamerlan’s) doors

Vasily Vereshchagin prints bring the mosques of Samarkand, the temples of India and the hard truth of 19th-century war onto your walls. Vereshchagin was a Russian painter, soldier and traveller whose realist war pictures were meant to make people hate war. Our collection of fine art prints covers his Turkestan series, his Indian and Himalayan views, his Russo-Turkish War paintings and portraits of the people he met.

About Vasily Vereshchagin

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin was born in Cherepovets, in northern Russia, on 26 October 1842. He was sent to cadet school at eight and graduated first from the naval college in St Petersburg, but left the navy at once to study art. In 1863 he won a medal at the Imperial Academy of Arts, and in 1864 he went to Paris to study under Jean-Léon Gérôme, though he disagreed with much of his teaching.

In 1867 he joined General Kaufman's expedition to Central Asia and won the Cross of St George for bravery at the siege of Samarkand in 1868. The paintings that followed, his Turkestan Series, were shown at the Crystal Palace in London in 1873. In St Petersburg in 1874, two of them were withdrawn for showing the army in a bad light. He then spent more than two years in the Himalayas, India and Tibet.

In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 he was at the Shipka Pass and Plevna, where his brother was killed, and was badly wounded himself. Back in Munich he painted his war pictures at great speed, and his exhibitions from 1881 drew huge crowds across Europe. He later painted controversial series on executions and on the life of Christ, and a cycle on Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia. In the Russo-Japanese War he joined Admiral Makarov aboard the battleship Petropavlovsk, and died when it struck mines off Port Arthur on 13 April 1904.

Style and Subjects

Vereshchagin was a realist who painted what he saw with almost photographic clarity. His war pictures avoid glory: they show the dead and dying, the wounded left behind and the aftermath of battle, often under wide, empty skies.

His travel paintings are calmer and full of colour and detail: the tiled walls of Samarkand's madrasas, carved doors, desert light, the Taj Mahal at evening and the snowy peaks of the Himalayas, along with sharply observed portraits of soldiers, merchants and priests.

Famous Works

• They Attack Unaware (1871), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. A surprise attack on a caravan, from the Turkestan Series.
• A Rich Kirghiz Huntsman with a Falcon (1871), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. A hunter in rich robes with his bird.
• The Apotheosis of War (1871), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. A pyramid of skulls in the desert, dedicated "to all conquerors, past, present and to come".
• Doors of Tamerlane (1872), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Guards before great carved doors in Samarkand.
• They Are Triumphant (1872), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. A grim scene of victors with their trophies.
• Mortally Wounded (1873), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. A soldier clutching his wound as he runs.
• The State Procession of the Prince of Wales into Jaipur in 1876. A vast Indian procession, believed to be one of the largest oil paintings in the world.
• Before the Attack. At Plevna (1881), Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. Russian troops waiting at the siege where his brother died.

Decorating with Vereshchagin Prints

Vereshchagin's Central Asian and Indian scenes suit a study, library or living room. The warm colours of The Taj Mahal, Evening or the blue tiles of the Samarkand madrasas work well with rich textiles, rugs and dark wood.

His Himalayan views bring cool calm to a hallway or bedroom. The war paintings are powerful history pieces, best for a study or for anyone who collects military or Russian history.

FAQ

What is Vasily Vereshchagin's most famous painting?

The Apotheosis of War (1871), a pyramid of skulls dedicated to "all conquerors, past, present and to come", is his best-known work. It hangs in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.

Why did Vereshchagin paint war?

He served as a soldier and wanted to show war's horrors honestly, to promote peace. Some of his pictures were banned because they showed the army unfavourably.

How did Vereshchagin die?

He died on 13 April 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, when the battleship Petropavlovsk struck mines off Port Arthur and sank with most of its crew.

Where can I see Vereshchagin's paintings?

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow holds the Turkestan Series. His 1812 series is in Moscow's State Historical Museum and Museum of the Patriotic War of 1812, and other works are in the Hermitage and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Related Artists

• Jean-Léon Gérôme: his teacher in Paris, also a painter of the Orient
• Franz Roubaud: Russian painter of battle panoramas in the next generation
• Ilya Repin: leading Russian realist painter of the same era