New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-12-29
VERESTCHAGIN ON WAR.
MEASURED BY THE SCALE OF REALISM
ITS DEARTH OF ROMANCE; ITS PRosA1c Hofs
RORS-A BRILLIANT LECTURE By
THE RUSSIAN ARTIST

ITS DEARTH OF ROMANCE; ITS PRosA1c Hoh
RORS-A BRILLIANT LECTURE By
THE RUSSIAN ARTIST.
In such lectures as that delivered by vass vercst-
chagin in the American Art Gallery last evening
international arbitration societies must find their
strongest arguments. A Talk War" by an artist
fertile in the pictorial expression OF violent DEATH anu
particularly death the battlefield. and an artist VINO
founded his school Of real SIN In violent death o
actual experience of did not fall to attract
remarkable audience. Faces Of wcllknown painters
and literary men and women in II: and how
nearly the extreme ideallst and the extreme
realist approach each other could not fall
to he emphasized by the presence Of Luther
r. Marsh. the splrualist. George Francis Train the
psychologist. and Colonel Hinton. the Socialist.
Verestchagln impressed being full of purpose.
and intent on enforcing lesson. Ills manner was
subdued and earnest He did not gesticula,e as
when he cxpounded his ideas Of art. But the
undercurrent OF energy. markedly
unconventional in the dress suit that seemed to pro
against its conventonalty by appearing TO have
been flung upon him rather than fitted
TO him, mpellcd him 10 continuous
walk to and fro that tired the eyes of those who
tried to fix constant gaze his figure.
Behind him, to his right, his painting OF the
Crucifxion; to his left Russian execution. hooded
bodies hanging from rude galowses. with crowd Of
OnlooIers pecring through a binding snowstorm; be-
hind him. blood curdllng remlnscence Of the India
mutny, long line of Sepoys about to be blown
from the mouths Of cannon by British soldiers.
With face stolid TO the applause that welcomed
him, Verestchagin plunged into horrors in his first
sentence. lie described his visit to a sacked city Of
China twenty years ago. There he found skulls and
skeletons, desolation and death.
He spoke with sarcasm and grim hunor of the sport
Of war and its attractions. Said he: 81 have killed
In battle, and the feeling Of satisfaction and excite
mcnt after killing is exactly the same as with
the game IN hunting" But II the battlefield is dread
full, Vereschagin thinks that the place of execution
Is disgusting. lie Is less friendly TO judicial muir
der" Than even 10 and thinks that. 10 be logical
II is better to cut OIL heads for great Offences and for
smaller TO cut OFF only ears for instance and hands
and occasionally noses" tho Oriental do than.
af'er the manner Of the Europeans, and presumably,
though he did not name them, Americans, who pct
and feed well condemned criminal for many DAYS
and then Kill him after the last Establishment OF an
extraordinarily good breakfast and a drink OF whislsy
FEW OF his remarkable sayings were: l All often
repiOached with having in my pictures Representa-
war more dreadful than IL IS in reality. The ladies'
think they can make roseyater war.
But II you make war; you must Kill ILL., KILL kill tiIl
Ole sde ciles, stop! cannot more. war IS con.
traiy 10 the common moral. do not take another
property, says tue common moral. Take it use IT.
says ire war' DO not ILL., says the moral XIII
says The "ar Kill many a, possible p"
Then ne cast more strong Lights Oh the horrors oi
war, and painted word pictures OF what he had seen
IN hos pais, Of Turkish prisoners freezing death
wagons driven over their sun living bodies, and
Ul4cu lh icT dying cdl5 uy victorious itLssIdIs.
Last OF al, he told how he the body OF his
bIpLLef, snOt dedd al PleVna before tho surrender
and refused 10 the Russians by the Turns, were
aleo hose Of the other Russians Killed within the
Turkish lines A. LIZ tOiu tIc Story, graspcd the
rel rope before him, and slid his hand over IL as he
walked.
said Vercstchagln: Two months afterward when
Pevna surrendered, went and found the most inter
esung and dreadful scene ever saw i'm my lfe The
whole place filled with corpses, better, skeletons
of those VINO fell during the battle. They ID
different positions, with remains of skin and clOthinG
their bones, with their hands stretched In the
air But where my brOthcri ! could X
niZe him. looked around, trying 10 recognize some
thing familiar 10 piece of cloth. piece Of shirt
Tears forget me. made sketch of thi, place, but
one year afterWari, when tried 10 put this
on canvas. 1 could not make the picture. 1 could
nOtl / could not. have fnishcd.7