Vereshchagin Vasily Vasilyevich

Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin (1842–1904) was a battle painter known for exposing the brutality of wars of conquest and celebrating the heroism of the Russian people. He is the author of the Turkestan and Balkan series, as well as cycles of paintings dedicated to India, the Himalayas, and the War of 1812. He studied at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (from 1858) and the Academy of Arts (1860–1863) under A. T. Markov and A. E. Beideman. From 1864 to 1866, he studied at the Paris Academy of Arts under J. L. Gérôme and A. Bida. He participated in military campaigns in Turkestan and the Russo-Turkish War, and traveled extensively. He died during the explosion of the battleship "Petropavlovsk" near Port Arthur.