The end of Borodino battle 1900

Vasily Vereshchagin painted ‘The End of Borodino Battle’ using oil paints on canvas. These materials are central to the history of fine art, yet Vereshchagin uses them in a highly unconventional way. Rather than glorifying war, he strips it bare. The material qualities of oil paint – its capacity for rendering texture and light – serve not to ennoble the scene, but to heighten its horror. Look at the sheer amount of labour involved in producing such a large-scale work, the countless brushstrokes needed to depict the strewn bodies and smoky atmosphere. Each one represents a moment of Vereshchagin’s intense focus on the human cost of conflict. It is this relentless accumulation of detail, achieved through the patient application of paint, that gives the work its power. Vereshchagin isn't just showing us a battle, he's forcing us to confront the brutal reality of industrialised warfare. By emphasizing the sheer volume of death, he implicates the viewer in the systemic violence of the time.