After setbacks. 1868 Vasily Vereshchagin (1842-1904)

Description of Vasily Vereshchagin’s painting "After Failure

Vasily Vereshchagin loved to travel, and almost all the time was on the road. During his life he managed to visit several dozen countries. Among them are the United States, China, and many regions of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. However, a special role in his work was played by two trips to Turkestan.

It was the memories of the terrible war in Samarkand and became food for the brain and inspiration for the artist’s work. Between 1867 and 1870, he made his first visit to the country. That’s when the masterpiece "After Failure", dated 1868, came out from under the artist’s brush. The appearance of the painting coincided with the aggravation of the military-political situation in the region. That was the time of large-scale military operations aimed at annexing the territories of Asia to Russia. It became the reason for the struggle of local residents against Russian soldiers.

To fully cover the events of the time, Vereshchagin wrote a second paired painting "After Luck" to the canvas "After Failure". Both masterpieces described the events of the "holy war" from both sides. The works displayed the brutal and bloody side of the battle for each belligerent state.

The plot is uncomplicated but eloquent. A fortress wall is depicted in the background. Ravens are hovering above it, a symbolic image of death. In the foreground are the dead bodies of the Bukhara people. Next to them, Russian warriors are serenely conversing. One of them smokes unhurriedly next to the dead.

The painting condemns this callous behavior of the soldiers, completely denying the usual image of noble warriors-victors. The painting contains a mute reproach to the bloodshed and the silent serenity of the murderers.