Vasili Vasilievich Vereshchagin

American Art Galleries, New York, Vassili Verestchagin Collection sale, 17-18 November 1891, lot 82 (titled Dressing the Wounded)
Samuel Ullman, New  York
Private Collection, United States, circa 1950

Vienna, Künstlerhaus, Ausführlicher katalog der gemälde und Zeichnungen von W. Wereschagin, 1881, no. 79
Amsterdam, Geïllustreerde Catalogus der Tentoonstelling van Schilderijen van Wasili Wereschagin, 1887, no. 3
New York, American Art Galleries, Exhibition of the Works of Vassili Verestchagin, 1888, no. 82  (travelling exhibition, visiting the Chicago Art Institute, January-March
1889, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, St. Louis, Baltimore and Boston et al.)

Künstlerhaus, Ausführlicher katalog der gemälde und Zeichnungen von W. Wereschagin, Vienna, 1881, no. 79 (titled Die Verwundeten)
Geïllustreerde Catalogus der Tentoonstelling van Schilderijen van Wasili Wereschagin, Amsterdam, 1887, no. 3 (titled De gekwetsten)
V.Verestchagin, Exhibition of the Works of Vassili Verestchagin, Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue, New York, 1888, p. 57, no. 82 (titled Dressing the Wounded)
"The Verestchagin Sale: Livelier Bidding on the Second Evening ¿ The Prices Realized," The New York Times, 19 November 1891, listed
F.Bulgakov, Vasili Vasilevich Vereshchagin, St. Petersburg, 1896, p. 255, illustrated (titled Transport ranenykh)
E. Zabel, Wereschtagin: mit 77 Abbilingen nach Gemälden und Zeichnungen, Bielefeld and Lepizig, 1900, p. 47, illustrated (titled Transport der Verwundeten)
F.I.Bulgakov, V.V. Vereshchagin i ego proizvedeniya, St. Petersburg, 1905, p. 148 (titled Transport ranenykh)
A.Lebedev and A.Solodovnikov, Vasili Vasilievich Vereshchagin, Leningrad, 1987, p. 52, illustrated (titled Transportation of the Wounded)

Original canvas, which is slightly unevenly stretched at the corners. The paint surface is slightly dirty with a layer of discoloured varnish. There are some areas of vertical and impact craquelure in places to the upper part of the canvas, e.g. to the top of the central figure's bayonet and above the wagon to his left. UV light reveals a few spots of sporadic retouching to the upper edges and corners and one small spot left of the central telegraph pole, approximately half way down. Held in a simple wooden strip frame. Unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Transportation of the Wounded has not been seen by the public since its inclusion in the American Art Association exhibition and subsequent auction (1888-1891). The rediscovery of this masterpiece is an exciting addition to our appreciation of the artist's famous Balkan series, which documented his impressions of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The painting has until now been familiar to scholars of Vereshchagin only from exhibition listings, a black and white image and studio photographs (fig.1).

Vereshchagin joined General Skobolev's regiment as a volunteer in April 1877, consumed by the so-called Slavic Cause and drawn by the unusual spectacles of war. The present lot depicts a pause between hostilities in August of that year during the Siege of Plevna, a critical series of battles which ultimately resulted in a Russian victory. The Ottoman commander, Osman Pasha, had entrenched his troops in the deep valley town of Plevna, where they were quickly able to build a strong defensive position with redoubts, trenches and gun emplacements, and could dominate the strategic transport routes. The first and second Russian attacks were repulsed; Vereshchagin arrived in Plevna in time to witness the third attack in which General Skobolev managed to capture two southern redoubts of the town. Tsar Alexander II and his brother Grand Duke Nicholas watched from a pavilion built on a hillside, out of the line of fire.  

The present lot depicts the retreat of the wounded to the Danube after this third battle, described memorably by Vereshchagin in the American Art Association catalogue:

The carts used in transporting the wounded were the same as those in which the supplies of rusks were brought to the army, and these were supplemented by local carts. After the third assault on Plevna the whole road from this town to the Danube was thronged by transport trains of these carts; what with the primitive construction of the vehicles and the execrable roads, the agonies of the wounded were horrible beyond description, and the most trifling wounds gangrened and became mortal. During a removal from one hospital to another, lasting usually several days, in the heat and dust, all the wounds became full of worms, and the Sisters of Mercy had to display extraordinary fortitude in cleaning, dressing, and healing all this. Whatever the behaviour of women in other countries and other armies may be, I know not, but this I can say, that the Russian woman showed herself a true heroine in her devotion, her honor and unselfishness (p. 57).

The State Tretyakov Gallery collection includes three important canvases from Plevna: Alexander II at Plevna on August 30, 1877 (1878-79), Before the Attack. At Plevna (fig.3,1881) and After the Attack. Dressing Station at Plevna (fig.4, 1881). The artist's younger brothers Sergey and Alexander were both casualties of the siege, which affected Vereshchagin profoundly and contributed to his pacifist standpoint. He describes the action in the American Art Association catalogue:

The roar of artillery and rattle of small arms were unceasing. We heard distinctly the hurrahs of the Russians, and the Allah! Allah! Of the Turks. At first the Turkish redoubts were almost silent, and many supposed them to be short of ammunition, but as our columns advanced, volley after volley poured forth and raked the storming battalions with shells and grape-shot. We saw our advance checked, the ranks thrown into confusion, the lines broken...The field of battle is shrouded in smoke (pp.54-55).

The magnitude of the panorama creates a vivid impression of the aftermath of battle. Vereshchagin expertly conveys the dust swept across the road, the exhaustion of the soldiers and the hot sun beating down. The Sisters of Mercy mentioned in his writings, can just be seen in white under the wagon awnings. The telegraph poles lining the road are an interesting addition, a relatively modern invention installed for the first time in the mid-19^th century.

Transportation of the Wounded was exhibited in Vienna in October 1881 with great success. The exhibition drew over 100,000 visitors and numerous positive reviews, and Vereshchagin donated all the proceeds earned from the show to the underprivileged of the city. The work was exhibited again in Amsterdam in 1887 before making its way to New York for inclusion in the American Art Association Vereshchagin exhibition of 1888. It then travelled across the United States before returning to New York in 1891 to be auctioned, where it was purchased for $705 by the New York collector and merchant Samuel Ullman. During the same auction Ullman also purchased Vereshchagin's The Spy, which was sold in these salerooms in May 2012.