and pleasure in the beauty of the world are characteristic of his landscapes
and genre scenes. But in his battle paintings he adhered to the tradition of
Critical Realism. Vereshchagin depicted war not as a romantic adventure,
but as a tragic error. His battle paintings are famous for their monumental
pathos and passionate pacifism.
The best-known work of Vereshchagin’s Turkish series (1869-73) is
the
Apotheosis of War (1870-71). It shows a pile of skulls againts the
devastated city. On the frame there is an inscription: “Dedicated to
all great
conqueror: past, present, future”. Thesubject o f the painting,
distinguished
for anti-war symbolism, was repeated numerously in the 20th centure anti
war poster.
After his trips to India (1874-6, 1882) Vereshchagin made Indian
series which depicted the colonial expansion of the English. In 1878-80 the
painter created the Balkan series, devoted the Russo-Turkish war. The
painting Conquered: Funeral (1878) greatly impressed his
contemporaries.
Vereshchagin’s anti-Napoleonic series were very popular. The
huge
paintings of his series are not entirely free from the theatrical effects and
the pomposity, but certain images are memorable because of their
dramatism.
During the 1880s Vereshchagin frequently returned to an evangelical
theme, depicted with realism, which is characteristic of all his work.
From 1870 to 1890 exhibitions of Vereshchagin’s work travelled
through Europe and the USA. By the turn of the centry he became the most
popular Russian artist abroad.
Vereshchagin was killed in the Russo-Japanese war zone in an
exposition on the battleship Patropavlovsk.
I.Give
Kazakh equivalents o f following phrases:
The cadet corps; a naval officer; to abandon the career; conventions
of the academic system; historical painting; effective handing of
details, to take part in the military actions; landscape; battle painting;
to be adhere to; an anti-war poster; to prevail in; a
m o v e m e n t
of
solidarity with; images are memorable; in an ambush; an
evangelical
theme; to appeal for pacifism;
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