VERESTCHAGIN, ve-r&h-chii'On, Va al% Russian painter: b. province of Novgorod, 25 Oct. 1842; d. on board the battleship Petro pavlosk, 13 April 1904. He was educated at the naval school in Saint Petersburg, but devoting himself to painting, he entered the Saint Peters burg Academy. In 1861 he traveled in Germany, France and Spain, and in 1864 he en tcred the Ecole des Beaux Arts at Paris, where GerOme was his master. He joined the Cau casian expedition under General Kaufmann in 1867, and in 1869 went to Siberia. In 1874 he went to India with the Prince of Wales, and afterward settled in Paris. He took part in the Russo-Turkish War, and was wounded at Plevna. Subsequently he visited all the chief cities of Europe, as well as the United States, exhibiting his pictures. They are of immense size, extremely realistic, and treat chiefly of the horrors of war. Among his war pictures are (An Unexpected Attack) ; (Before the Victory' ; (After Defeat); (Assault on Plevna); 'After the Assault' ; (Apotheosis of War' ; (Wounded Returning) ,_• (Our Prisoners) ; (All Quiet at Shiplca); (The Route to Plevne ; (The Re treat from Moscow); (The Forgotten Soldier) ; and, his latest woric, a ranciful picture of the battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War with Roosevelt as the hero. He also took
up religious subjects, and his 'Family of Jesus) and 'Resurrection) attracted some attention. He wrote reminiscences, translated into Eng lish, such as (Verestchagin, Painter, Soldier, Traveler) (1888) • 'Napoleon I in Russia) (1899), etc. On tie opening of the Russo-Jap anese War he accompamed the Russian forces and on the sinking of the battleship Petropav losk went down with the ship. Verestchagin was much more than a realist; he was in essen tials a poet of tragedy. By his great war pic tures he brought home to national consciences the intense significance of the pain to the indi vidual in its relation to the supposed interests of government.