Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin is a unique painter who traveled a lot and accompanied the Russian army in military operations in the Balkans, 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 the Russian public their exotic and colorful colors.
The painting “At the Door of the Mosque” is a vivid example of the illustration of the customs of the Eastern countries, correctly noticed by the sharp 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 who sit under these closed doors. Equally, the artist struggled against violence against the person, evil and injustice, taking place according to the will of people.
The main theme of Vereshchagin’s works was the cruelty and senselessness of wars initiated by different states, he was firmly entrenched in the reputation of a “fighter against the war”, for which in 1901 he was nominated for the first Nobel Peace Prize. Achieving photographic accuracy, the painter always relied on the truth of the fact: “It is impossible to give a picture of a real, genuine war to the society, looking at the battles with binoculars from the beautiful far away.”
Therefore, the master became a participant in all military operations and tried to convey as much as possible plausibly what was happening on the battlefield. The artist’s life was tragically cut short by the exploding battleship in 1904 during the Russo-Japanese War.
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