"The Apotheosis of War" was painted by Vereshchagin in 1871. At the time, Vereshchagin was residing in Munich, Germany, where he painted 13 works (including "Apotheosis") of art depicting his earlier travelling with the Imperial Russian Army as it moved throughout Central Asia, fighting against various factions and conquering what would become Russian Turkestan. As a classically-trained war artist, many of Vereshchagin's works were centered around battle scenes between the Russian army and the forces of the Khanates of Khiva and Kokand.