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Vasily Vereshchagin

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Artist

The Resume

    (October 26, 1842-April 13, 1904)
    Born in Cherepovets, Russian Federation
    Painter of war scenes and sights in Asia
    Attended the Marine Military School in St. Petersburg (1853-1860)
    Attended the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts (1860-1863)
    Paintings include 'A Rich Kyrgyz Hunter with a Falcon' (1871), 'At the Fortress Walls: Let Them In!' (1871), 'The Apotheosis of War' (1871), 'The Sale of the Child Slave' (1872), 'Mortally Wounded' (1873), 'Taj Mahal Mausoleum' (1876), 'The State Procession of the Prince of Wales into Jaipur' (1876), 'Blowing from Guns in British India' (1884), 'Crucifixion by the Romans' (1887), and 'Napoleon on the Borodino Heights' (1897)
    Killed off the coast of Port Arthur (now called Lüshunkou) while on board the flagship Petropavlovsk when it was struck by two mines during the Russo-Japanese War

Why he might be annoying:

    Many of his paintings depicting war scenes were so graphic that they weren't put on display during his lifetime.
    He was accused of employing assistants because he produced his war paintings quickly.
    Despite his pacifism, he fought in wars, particularly the Russian defense of Samarkand (June 2-8, 1868) and the Russo-Turkish War (April 24, 1877-March 3, 1878).
    He had a tendency to put himself in danger by participating in wars just to capture its horrors, culminating in his eventual death during the Russo-Japanese War.
    He rejected an appointment at the Imperial Academy of Arts as professor. (1874)
    Austria-Hungary and Russia banned his paintings from getting exhibited after Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke the Elder forbade German soldiers from visiting his exhibitions after viewing 'The Apotheosis of War'. (1882)
    He burned three of his paintings in reaction to the ban on his exhibitions.
    'Blowing from Guns in British India' was criticized for depicting British soldiers with uniforms from the 1880s despite the painting depicting the 1857 Indian Rebellion.
    The same painting was also criticized for inaccurately depicting the way mutineers were executed, saying that they were shot or hanged instead of being fired from field guns.

Why he might not be annoying:

    His father withdrew all financial support for him when he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts to become a history painter.
    He believed that it was impossible to depict the reality of war scenes without taking part in them.
    His war paintings didn't glorify war, but depicted it as vicious and soldiers as its main victims.
    He received the Cross of St. George for his courage during the siege of Samarkand.
    His brother was killed during the Siege of Plevna.
    He extensively traveled throughout Asia and used his travels to accurately depict the sights he saw.
    He nearly froze to death during his journey in the Himalayas.
    Theodore Dreiser based the main character of his novel 'The Genius' after him.
    'The State Procession of the Prince of Wales into Jaipur' is the third largest painting in the world.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying