Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin was never in favor with the rulers. It is understandable: instead of portraying battle scenes in a palace style, where enthusiastic soldiers in brand new uniforms are eager for battle, and dandy generals are prancing on well-fed horses, he painted suffering, devastation, wounds and death. Being a professional military man, the artist ended up in Turkestan in 1867. Imperial Russia just led the seizure of territories there and “pacified” the local peoples, so that Vereshchagin had enough to see enough of the corpses. His response to the armed conflict as such was the canvas "The Apotheosis of War."
It is believed that the painting was inspired by the ruthless suppression of the Uyghur uprising in western China. According to another version, it was inspired by stories about how the ruler of Kashgar executed people by thousands and stacked their skulls in pyramids. Among them was a European traveler, whose head crowned the top of this terrible mound. At first, the painting “The Apotheosis of War” was called “The Triumph of Tamerlane”, but round traces of bullets in turtles inevitably sent an observant viewer in later times. In addition, the illusion of the Middle Ages was dispelled by the inscription made by the artist on the frame: "Dedicated to all the great conquerors - past, present and future."
The "Apotheosis of War" made a depressing impression on the high-class audience in Russia and abroad. The imperial court found this and other battle paintings of the artist defaming the Russian army, and one general from Prussia even persuaded Alexander II to burn all the paintings of Vereshchagin about the war, because they have "the most harmful influence." Because of this work, the masters were not sold, only a private philanthropist Tretyakov bought several paintings from the Turkestan series.
The painting "The Apotheosis of War" depicts a mound of human skulls on the background of a burnt down steppe. The ruins of the city in the background and the skeletons of burnt trees complement the view of destruction, desolation, and death. A cloudless, sparkling blue sky only exacerbates the oppressive impression of the canvas. The yellow color, in which the work is done, and the black crow circling over a pile of skulls, as if make us feel the cadaverous smell emanating under the scorching sun. Therefore, the picture is perceived as an allegory of war, any war, outside of time and space.
This is not the only canvas about the horrors of wartime, which Vereshchagin wrote. “The Apotheosis of War” can also be called his second picture, which appeared a little later, when the artist made a trip to India. At that time, the British colonialists brutally crushed the sepoy uprising. To taunt Hindu beliefs about dispelling the ashes over the sacred river Ganges, they tied several rebels to cannons and shot them with powder charges. The canvas "English execution in India" was sold in New York to a private person at an auction and since then its trace has disappeared.
Unfortunately, modern man is so used to violence and death occurring daily around the world that mass killings now will not surprise anyone. To create the "Apotheosis of War", Vereshchagin had only a few skulls, which he depicted from various angles. However, in Cambodia , the Khmer Rouge in practice recreated what the artist painted. Vereshchagin did not know that in order for the pyramid of human heads to be stable, the skulls should be without a lower jaw. However, the terrifying realities of the twentieth century make us all sad "experts" in this matter.