Exposing the history of Russia's invasion of Central Asia in the19th century: the war worship of the famous war painter Vereshakin.

Vasily gold placer (1842- 1904),/kloc-an outstanding Russian painter in the 9th century, is famous for his realistic war paintings. Valerie gold placer's style is unique. As a battlefield witness, his brush never whitewashes the cruelty of war, but faithfully and calmly records what he sees and hears. Many of his works were unprecedented to European and American audiences at that time, so Willy gold placer became one of the first Russian artists to gain world-class reputation. Vasily Vere gold placer's life is full of legends. He was born in a landlord family in Sherebovic. His father is descended from nobles, but his mother is descended from Tatars. 1 1 years old, entered the St. Petersburg naval academy. /kloc-at the age of 0/6, he followed the Russian navy to explore the Plus frigate, visited Denmark and France, and finally arrived in Egypt. Surprisingly, after graduation, he transferred to Repin Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg (one of the four major fine arts colleges in the world) for further study. 1864 came to Paris to study painting, and studied under the famous French academic historical painter Jean-Leon Gere? I, I have written before). Soon, his paintings began to be exhibited in the famous Paris salon. Just when people thought Vasily Vereshchagin would successfully continue his career in Paris, the capital of art, 1868, he received a letter from Konstantin petrovich von Kaufman, Russian general and Russian governor of Central Asia (1865438- 1882). This trip to Central Asia has completely changed the theme of gold placer's creation. In June of the same year, as a member of the Russian garrison, he experienced a thrilling siege of Samarkand and won a medal for it. After the battle, Valerie gold placer began to travel around the world. In addition to major European countries, he has also been to India, China, Japan, the Philippines, Cuba, the United States ... and held art exhibitions in many countries. Rich experience also broadens the artist's creative vision. It is worth mentioning that the famous Wille Chakim is not far away from his military career. He participated in almost every major battle in Russia in the late19th century. He was seriously injured in the Russian-Turkish war and even joined the Russian army to suppress the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Konstantin petrovich von Kaufman 1904 The Russo-Japanese War broke out. The war is getting worse for Russia. Vice admiral of the Russian Empire, oceanographer and polar explorer Stepan Osipovich makarov (1849- 1904) was temporarily transferred to the Russian Pacific Fleet as commander. He warmly invited the famous war painter Vasily Vere gold placer to go with him, hoping to boost morale. However, his flagship battleship Petropavlovsk triggered a mine dropped by the Japanese in the battle outside Lushun Port on April 13, which led to the explosion of ammunition. Of the more than 700 officers and men on board, only 80 were rescued. Vasily Vere gold placer was martyred with makarov. This outstanding painter ended his life in this tragic way. I'm afraid he could have left more works if he hadn't visited the front line of the Russo-Japanese War in person. "vice admiral, makarov" The explosion of the battleship Petropavlovsk is the most memorable and controversial one among the many works of Vasily Vere gold placer, which is the apotheosis of the 187 1 year war. This painting is directly based on the 1868 Samarkand siege witnessed by the painter. Prior to this, Konstantin petrovich von Kaufman, commander-in-chief of the Russian army, led the main force to pursue the retreating troops of Bukhara Emirates (most of the territory belongs to today's Uzbekistan), while Samarkand, a famous historical and cultural city in Central Asia, was newly captured, leaving only 685 people stationed, including many wounded and non-combatants. Due to the emptiness of troops, Bukhara Emirates took the opportunity to unite as many as 25,000 to 55,000 people to launch a siege of Samarkand, and the painter Vasily Vere gold placer was in the city. In the eyes of ordinary people, this is basically a one-sided battle. However, the Russian army intercepted the information in advance and retreated to the solid city of Samarkand, equipped with 25 captured cannons. Some Jews in the city joined the Russian army as volunteers. In the face of an absolutely superior enemy, the Russian army fought to the death for three days. Kaufman learned that Samarkand was besieged, and he came back to help. Finally, the Bukhara Coalition forces left a large number of bodies and retreated in confusion. The Russian army paid a third of the casualties, and Vasily Vere gold placer won a Saint George's Medal for his heroic performance. 187 1 year, based on this unforgettable experience, gold placer created a chilling famous painting "Worship of War". In the center of the picture is a skeleton mountain, where crows gather in the sky and the land is barren, but behind it is Samarkand, which has just experienced a big war and is somewhat broken. There has always been a saying of "Jing Guan" in China's history books. Generally speaking, it refers to the Gaoling built in ancient times to show off martial arts and gather the remains of enemy soldiers who died in battle. They can play the so-called role of scaring the enemy, but they are also very bloody and barbaric. Gold placer's worship of war is, to some extent, a Central Asian version of "Beijing View". Judging from the number of skulls, it is obvious that they are from the emirate of Bukhara. Historically, after the Mongols conquered Samarkand, the capital city of Hua La Zi Mo, in 1220, it was indeed a massacre, sticking their heads out of the hills outside the city. Therefore, gold placer's works may be artistic processing under the guise of the combination of the historical Mongolian "Jingguan" and the real Samarkand Battle in 1868, rather than the fact that Russian troops actually put each other's bones outside the city. Intriguingly, Valerie gold placer wrote this sentence on the picture frame: "To all the great conquerors of the past, present and future". It is difficult to judge at a glance whether the worship of war is anti-war or militant. Indeed, the painter's brushwork seems to be too straightforward and cold, showing the cruelty of war. However, when this painting was exhibited in Russia, it caused great controversy. Many viewers think that the worship of war shows Russian atrocities and slanders Russia (this is quite strange considering that gold placer himself was a Russian hero in the Samarkand campaign). In the end, the painting was banned from being exhibited in Russia. Vereshakim doesn't want to bow his head. He also sent Worship of War to an exhibition in Germany. Unexpectedly, this also leads to the porch. Marshal helmuth karl bernhard von moltke (1800- 189 1, or "Old Mao Qi"), a legendary strategist and chief of staff in German history, was extremely shocked and uneasy when he saw this painting, so he ordered all German soldiers not to watch War Worship. Later, "war worship" came to Austria for exhibition, and the war minister of Austria-Hungary also issued a similar ban. Another work, Triumph, by Mao Qi Marshal Valery gold placer is set in Samarkand, and the atmosphere is completely different: Vasily Valery gold placer himself never admitted that it was a slander against Russian soldiers, but when the pressure of public opinion was greatest, he burned three of his works in a rage, but fortunately, Worship of War was not one of them. In my opinion, the worship of war is essentially anti-war. It reveals the cruelty and irrationality of war and the special position of Willy gold placer as a war hero by combining historical truth and illusion, which further enhances the persuasiveness of oil painting. By today's standards, the expansion of the Russian Empire in Central Asia is unfair. Willy gold placer's sympathy for the defeated did not mention "treason". Worship of War is currently collected by the famous Diacov Gallery in Moscow. Time has passed, the ban on this painting has long since disappeared, and the Russians have accepted the historical and artistic value of this work. It is said that although Vasily Vere gold placer is a student of Jerome, he has many objections to the teacher's over-idealized and over-classical artistic techniques, and has turned out his own unique way. It is his calmness and directness as a later war photographer that gives us the opportunity to experience the law of the jungle era in the late19th century with the help of pictures. The following are some of gold placer's representative works of war: