Description of the picture:
At the door of the mosque – Vasily Vereshchagin. 1873. Oil on canvas. 315.5×237.5
Vasily Vereshchagin – a unique painter who traveled a lot, accompanied the Russian army in military operations in the Balkans, in Central Asia and Japan. Devoting his work to the battle genre, the artist, in addition to military events, tried to capture the views of India, Japan and other countries, to present to the Russian public their exoticism and color.
The painting “At the door of the mosque” – a vivid example of illustration of the customs of the eastern states, correctly noticed by the keen eye of the master. The luxury of carved doors embodies the wealth of the owners of the house – rulers and dignitaries – and their contempt for the poor sitting under these closed doors. Equally, the artist fought against personal violence, evil and injustice, occurring at the behest of people. The main theme of Vereshchagin’s works was the cruelty and senselessness of wars initiated by various states, his reputation as a “fighter against the war” was firmly entrenched, for which in one thousand nine hundred one he was nominated for the first Nobel Peace Prize. Achieving photographic accuracy, the painter always relied on the truth of the fact: “you can’t give the society pictures of a real, genuine war, looking at the battles with binoculars from a beautiful far away.”
Therefore, the master became a participant in all military operations and tried to convey what was happening on the battlefield as plausibly as possible. The artist’s life was tragically cut short on an exploding armadillo in one thousand nine hundred four during the Russo-Japanese War."
