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Property from the University of California, Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Sold to Benefit the Acquisitions Fund
Vasilii Vasilievich Vereshchagin (1842-1904)
Solomon's Wall
Details
Vasilii Vasilievich Vereshchagin (1842-1904)
Solomon's Wall
oil on canvas
78½ x 59¾ in. (199.4 cm. x 151.8 cm.)
Painted in 1884-1885
Solomon's Wall
oil on canvas
78½ x 59¾ in. (199.4 cm. x 151.8 cm.)
Painted in 1884-1885
Provenance
Sold at Vassili Verestchagin Collection, November 17, 1891, lot 94, American Art Association, New York.
Collection of Phoebe Apperson Hearst, circa 1920.
Gift from the above to University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, formerly University Art Museum, University of California.
Collection of Phoebe Apperson Hearst, circa 1920.
Gift from the above to University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, formerly University Art Museum, University of California.
Literature
American Art Galleries, Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue of the Vassili Verestchagin Collection. On exhibition previously to being sold by Auction, without reserve, AAA, New York, 1891, page 56.
Bulgakov F. I., V. V. Vereshchagin i Ego Proizvedeniia, Sankt Petersburg, 1896, page 72, illustrated at the end of the book.
Zabel, Eugen,Wereschtschagin, Bielefeld, Leipzig, Velhagen & Klasing, 1900, ill 53, page 49.
Lebedev A. K., Vasilii Vasilievich Vereshchagin, Zhizn' i Tvorchestvo, Moscow, 1958, page 226.
Demin, L., S Mol'bertom po Zemnomu Sharu. Mir Glazami V. V. Vereshchagina, Moscow, 1991, page 211.
Lebedev A. K., Solodovnikov A. V., Vasili Vasilievich
Vereshchagin, Leningrad, 1987, page 68.
This Year in Jerusalem, The Passionate Pilgrimage. And the first west Coast Showing of Photography by David Levinthal, Mein Kampf, Judah L. Magnes Museum, March 24 through July 14, 1996, cover illustration.
Bulgakov F. I., V. V. Vereshchagin i Ego Proizvedeniia, Sankt Petersburg, 1896, page 72, illustrated at the end of the book.
Zabel, Eugen,Wereschtschagin, Bielefeld, Leipzig, Velhagen & Klasing, 1900, ill 53, page 49.
Lebedev A. K., Vasilii Vasilievich Vereshchagin, Zhizn' i Tvorchestvo, Moscow, 1958, page 226.
Demin, L., S Mol'bertom po Zemnomu Sharu. Mir Glazami V. V. Vereshchagina, Moscow, 1991, page 211.
Lebedev A. K., Solodovnikov A. V., Vasili Vasilievich
Vereshchagin, Leningrad, 1987, page 68.
This Year in Jerusalem, The Passionate Pilgrimage. And the first west Coast Showing of Photography by David Levinthal, Mein Kampf, Judah L. Magnes Museum, March 24 through July 14, 1996, cover illustration.
Exhibited
Vassili Verestchagin Collection, November 1891, American Art Association, New York.
The Judah L. Magnes Museum, California, extended loan.
Impressions of the Near East: Orientalist Art of the 19th century, The Haggin Museum, California, November 8, 1987 - January 3, 1988.
On View at Vereschiagin Hall, State Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow, March 5-16, 2007.
The Judah L. Magnes Museum, California, extended loan.
Impressions of the Near East: Orientalist Art of the 19th century, The Haggin Museum, California, November 8, 1987 - January 3, 1988.
On View at Vereschiagin Hall, State Tretiakov Gallery, Moscow, March 5-16, 2007.
Further details
"Some spread the idea of peace by means of fascinating and powerful words; others present in its defense religious, economic and other arguments; and I advocate the same thing by means of color."
Vasilii Vereshchagin
In the second half of the 19th century Vasilii Vereshchagin was a major figure in the artistic life of Russia and the most well-known Russian artist in the West. Exhibitions of his paintings showing powerful, compelling and often unforgettable images were seen as major cultural events in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, London, Berlin, New York, and many other cities where they attracted thousands of visitors. The most famous artist of Russian realism, Ilia Repin (1844-1930), called Vereshchagin "a colossus, a great artist," "a real Hercules," "to a higher degree an immense phenomenon in our life," "a genius, a superman." His works were seen as having great significance since they "conceal a great power, a great artistic potentiality" of universal relevance. In addition to being an accomplished battle painter who documented the brutal nature of modern warfare and the devastating results of many military conflicts, he was arguably the most well-known Russian Orientalist. Vereshchagin was a historian, ethnographer, journalist, geographer and indefatigable traveler who spent time in Central Asia, the Himalayas, India, Tibet, the Middle East, the Philippines, and Japan. He aimed to document the places, people, clothing, and customs of the indigenous people with utmost accuracy and truthfulness at a time when ethnographic studies and systematic documentation of native cultures were only beginning (Fig. 1). Considered one of the most well-traveled artists of the 19th century, Vereshchagin painted far-away lands and their most famous monuments with breathtaking mastery and remarkable skill that left a deep impression on people who regarded his paintings as sensational (Fig 2).
By the 1880s Vasilii Vereshchagin's reputation as a grand master of the historical genre and Russia's greatest battle painter was well established. Having completed two major series of paintings depicting scenes from the Russian conquest of Central Asia and the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the artist reached the peak of popularity with critics and the public alike. Presented as part of a series, these paintings were shocking in their depiction of the agony, pain, and suffering of war (Fig 3). Embraced by the liberal art critics as an utter realist in art and idolized by the general public as a master of the historical genre, Vereshchagin also faced criticism and opposition from the Russian authority and the military establishment for his allegedly biased portrayals of wars and unnecessary brutal accuracy of depiction. Vicious attacks unleashed by the reactionary press caused the artist great anguish and pain. In 1882 he began contemplating a new project, one that would take him far away from the stifling atmosphere of the political reaction that seized Russia after the tragic assassination of Emperor Alexander II in 1881, and would give the artist an opportunity to travel to another exotic and mysterious land - Palestine.
At the end of 1883 Vereshchagin embarked on an extensive trip to Syria and Palestine to make ethnographic sketches and studies of the historical sites in preparation for a painting depicting a gruesome scene of public punishment of criminals and rebels in the Judea province of the ancient Roman Empire (Fig 4). This painting became part of the series entitled The Trilogy of Execution. Prior to the trip Vereshchagin studied many contemporary accounts of Western travelers, read the text of the Old and New Testaments, and consulted many ethnographic and literary sources. Upon arrival, the artist was captivated by the solemn beauty and the diverse human types of the Holy Land, and was inspired by its historic monuments and sites seen as sacred by the Christians, the Jews, and the Muslims. In 1889 Valerii Gribayedoff, a writer for the prestigious Cosmopolitan magazine noted: "With the same characteristic ardor and tireless energy that marked his previous explorations, he [Vereshchagin] delved deep into the artistic treasures of the Holy Land. Months and months were passed amidst the crumbling ruins and among the pilgrims of all nationalities, until he has secured data, not simply for the creation of his subsequent masterpieces, but also to support his religious and artistic convictions." With a keen eye for observation, the artist kept detailed accounts during his travels to Jaffa, the banks of the Dead Sea, river Jordan, and many historic sites in Jerusalem and its environs. His memoirs entitled "Palestinian Accounts" were later published in 1891 in a popular magazine Khudozhnik in St. Petersburg. Inspired by the important cultural monuments in the region, Vereshchagin painted many sites significant to Jewish as well as Christian traditions. Among his subjects were the Tomb of Abraham, the Valley of Ezdraelon, the Tombs of the Kings, the remains of the ancient town of Bethsaida, old Jewish Tombs near Jerusalem and many other sites significant to the Judaic-Christian tradition. What was planned to be a short study trip for one painting became an adventure, which resulted in a collection of works known as the Palestinian series, of which the current work is one of the finest examples.
Solomon's Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall in the city of Jerusalem, is the only remaining stretch of the western side of the stone platform on which stood the original Second Temple of Jerusalem. The First Temple, originally built by Solomon in the 10th century B.C., was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Rebuilt later by the Persians under Cyrus the Great, the Second Temple survived and was expanded. In 70 A.D. the Romans leveled it as a reprisal for the Jewish uprising. The remaining wall survived 500 years of Christian Byzantine rule and repeated persecution of Jews until Jerusalem was conquered by the Muslim armies under Omar in 638 A.D. This section of the western wall which has remained intact became endeared to the Jews as the holiest place of assembly and prayer. Many artists before Vereshchagin found the wall an inspiring subject. Vereshchagin's own art instructor, the much admired Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904), with whom the artist studied between 1864-1867, immortalized the subject in his masterpiece completed in 1877, fourteen years after he visited the famous site (Fig 5.) Austrian artist Gustav Bauernfeind (1848-1904) painted three versions of the subject, the last one in 1904 (Fig. 6), ironically the very same year when all three of the artists died. Both Gérôme and Bauernfeind painted the scene imbued with considerable solemnity befitting the rendering of a sacred site. Both artists chose not to show the crowded conditions they witnessed during Good Friday. While many details of the site are documentary, such as the size and the color of the stones as well as height of the wall, the ancient Hebrew characters carved into the stones are not true to the monument itself and were most likely added by Bauernfeind to his painting as a decorative flourish. Vereshchagin's work is far from the romantic idealization or religious fervor present in the works of his European colleagues. His painting shows a sun-drenched weathered stone wall towering over the large crowd of pilgrims, who, weary from a long travel, sit, stand and kneel in front of the sacred remnants of the ancient Temple. Hundreds of worshipers of all ages and walks of life crowd the space hoping to gain a private solemn moment at the Wailing Wall, but instead find themselves waiting their turn in the long line of pious believers. It is not a Biblical drama, but a common scene, one that feels almost journalistic in its natural sense of authenticity. From the smaller version of painting (Fig. 7) it becomes clear that the artist re-worked the composition to achieve a much more immediate and direct impression from the scene. The arrangement of the figures is much tighter, and more compact. It is not the enormity of the stone wall that captures the imagination; it is the parade of characters in the unfolding human drama that takes the center stage.
A talented writer and journalist, Vereshchagin left a vivid description of the scene the way he first saw it, which was subsequently included in the exhibition catalogues of his works from this period:
The six lower ranges of these splendid stones are beyond doubt of the time of David and Solomon, the next rows may be attributed to Herod, while the upper and smallest date from the Mohammedan period. This part of the great wall which surrounded the Temple is called "The Wailing Place," because the Jews for a long time past have been in the habit of coming hither - at first once a year on the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem (on payment of a heavy tax to the Mussulman authorities), and in more recent days as frequently as they wished - to bewail their past greatness and present dispersion. Seldom can anything more touching be seen. The Jews of both sexes and of all ages arrive from all parts of the world to pray and weep with loud cries, and literally to wash with their tears the sacred stones! On Friday the place is quite full of people from Palestine, Central Asia, India, Europe, and especially from Russia - all praying in the most plaintive tones, beating their breasts, rocking their bodies to and fro, or leaning motionless against the stones and weeping, weeping, weeping!
The Jews seems to bring all their sorrows and misfortunes to this place. A woman approaches with unsteady gait, throws herself against the wall, and in an agonizing voice implores God to give her back her dead child. Farther on two Jews, wearied with praying, are talking business. "Have you bought? What have you paid? Too dear!" and so on. After this interlude they recommence praying and weeping.
An old Rabbi is sitting in his corner on a stone or on empty wine box with the inevitable "Bordeaux" mark, and with eyes full of tears reads in his book: "O God, the heathen are coming into thine inheritance; the holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps. We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord? Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?"
The artist's keen sense of observation, ability to notice the most typical individual characteristics, and acute sensitivity to cultural differences allowed him to document a historical scene with photographic accuracy. In order to achieve such accuracy of depiction, the artist painted a large number of sketches, two of which are known to exist today. (Fig.8) Critics were unanimous in their praise of the painting, calling Solomon's Wall "one of the gems of the Palestinian collection, indeed of the artist's entire work".
The entire Palestinian series was completed in Paris during 1884-1885. In addition to topographic views of Palestine and Syria, Vereshchagin worked on a small series of paintings depicting various episodes in the life of Jesus. Two of them in particular, The Holy Family (Fig.9) and The Resurrection of Christ (Fig.10), created a significant amount of controversy and became the reason why the entire Palestinian series disappeared from public view shortly after its European and American debuts. In the first painting Vereshchagin approached the New Testament subjects from a rationalist or positivist point of view, presenting the Holy Family in a prosaic setting occupied with their daily chores, and stripping the subject from the usual glorifying undertones. In The Resurrection of Christ Jesus was depicted as a person who had just awakened from the lethargic sleep and attempts to recover his bearings. Such treatment was a radical departure from the traditional iconography and caused a great deal of controversy when the entire Palestinian series was exhibited in Vienna in 1885. Defendants of the official Catholic doctrine found such interpretations sacrilegious and insulting, and demanded that the exhibition be closed down. In spite of the controversy the tour of the paintings continued in 1886-1888 with exhibitions in Budapest (the most controversial paintings were excluded from this show), Berlin, Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Prague, Breslau, Leipzig, Koenigsburg, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Liverpool, and Paris. Yet international acclaim did very little to ensure the popularity of the new series in Russia. Paintings illustrating scenes from the life of Jesus, as well as The Trilogy of Execution, were banned from being shown in Russia, their photographic illustrations were confiscated, and the entire Palestinian series was buried under the cloud of controversy and bad publicity.
In light of the controversy surrounding him in Europe, Vereshchagin - with great relief - accepted an invitation to tour the US with a large exhibition showcasing his latest works. In November 1888, after an aggressive promotional campaign organized by the American Art Association, Vereshchagin's exhibition opened in the American Art Galleries in New York. Over the two months it was on view, the show was a phenomenal success. Five thousand invitations were sent out for the opening. The galleries were decorated in exotic fabrics, Oriental rugs, and artifacts collected by the artist during his travels. A classically trained Russian piano player entertained visitors with the sounds of Russian music, while two bearded men dressed in traditional costumes greeted the visitors near the entrance. The exhibition reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Clarence Cook from Harper's Weekly heralded the show as "an intellectual feast, such as none other presented to the public for the last twenty-five years," others predicted that the entire "winter season of 1888 will at least be recalled for many years as the epoch of Vasilii Vereshchagin's advent in New York."
From New York the exhibition traveled to Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston. During this time, hundreds of thousands of visitors attended the show. When the tour ended in 1891, the works returned to New York City, where the entire collection of 110 paintings was auctioned off for $84,300. Solomon's Wall was sold for $2,500 ($3000 according to a Russian account). Only a few paintings were acquired by public institutions; most of the works were purchased by private collectors.
Since the public auction of 1891 only a handful of paintings from the Palestinian series resurfaced on the open art market.
Ruins of a Samaritan Temple at Shechem
Sold at Christie's
Forbes Magazine Collection of Orientalist Paintings, drawings, watercolors and Sculpture, New York, October 14, 1993, lot 137
Entrance to the Tombs of the Kings
Erroneously called Two Arabs in White Kaftans under a Stone Arch
Sold at Christie's
Forbes Magazine Collection of Orientalist Paintings, drawings, watercolors and Sculpture, New York, October 14, 1993, lot 176
The Cave Endor
Sold at Christie's
Russian Pictures, London, November 30, 2005, lot 82
Russian Hermit of the Grotto on the Jordan
Sold at Sotheby's
Russian Art, New York, April 26, 2006, vol. 1, lot 10
Only a few of sketches and a single painting entitled Tombs of the Kings (Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg) ended up in Russian collections. Never exhibited in Russia, and banned from the art reviews, the Palestinian series remains virtually unknown to Russian art collectors with many of its paintings believed to be lost. Having enjoyed phenomenal, albeit brief, success in America, this important series was sold piecemeal to private collections, where most of the paintings remain today. As a result, the rarity and the historical significance of the current painting can hardly be overestimated.
We are grateful to Mr. Valentin Rodionov, Director of the State Tretiakov Gallery, and Mrs. Lidia Iovleva, Deputy Director, for their assistance with organizing the exhibition of the present painting at the State Tretiakov Gallery.
Vasilii Vereshchagin
In the second half of the 19th century Vasilii Vereshchagin was a major figure in the artistic life of Russia and the most well-known Russian artist in the West. Exhibitions of his paintings showing powerful, compelling and often unforgettable images were seen as major cultural events in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Paris, London, Berlin, New York, and many other cities where they attracted thousands of visitors. The most famous artist of Russian realism, Ilia Repin (1844-1930), called Vereshchagin "a colossus, a great artist," "a real Hercules," "to a higher degree an immense phenomenon in our life," "a genius, a superman." His works were seen as having great significance since they "conceal a great power, a great artistic potentiality" of universal relevance. In addition to being an accomplished battle painter who documented the brutal nature of modern warfare and the devastating results of many military conflicts, he was arguably the most well-known Russian Orientalist. Vereshchagin was a historian, ethnographer, journalist, geographer and indefatigable traveler who spent time in Central Asia, the Himalayas, India, Tibet, the Middle East, the Philippines, and Japan. He aimed to document the places, people, clothing, and customs of the indigenous people with utmost accuracy and truthfulness at a time when ethnographic studies and systematic documentation of native cultures were only beginning (Fig. 1). Considered one of the most well-traveled artists of the 19th century, Vereshchagin painted far-away lands and their most famous monuments with breathtaking mastery and remarkable skill that left a deep impression on people who regarded his paintings as sensational (Fig 2).
By the 1880s Vasilii Vereshchagin's reputation as a grand master of the historical genre and Russia's greatest battle painter was well established. Having completed two major series of paintings depicting scenes from the Russian conquest of Central Asia and the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, the artist reached the peak of popularity with critics and the public alike. Presented as part of a series, these paintings were shocking in their depiction of the agony, pain, and suffering of war (Fig 3). Embraced by the liberal art critics as an utter realist in art and idolized by the general public as a master of the historical genre, Vereshchagin also faced criticism and opposition from the Russian authority and the military establishment for his allegedly biased portrayals of wars and unnecessary brutal accuracy of depiction. Vicious attacks unleashed by the reactionary press caused the artist great anguish and pain. In 1882 he began contemplating a new project, one that would take him far away from the stifling atmosphere of the political reaction that seized Russia after the tragic assassination of Emperor Alexander II in 1881, and would give the artist an opportunity to travel to another exotic and mysterious land - Palestine.
At the end of 1883 Vereshchagin embarked on an extensive trip to Syria and Palestine to make ethnographic sketches and studies of the historical sites in preparation for a painting depicting a gruesome scene of public punishment of criminals and rebels in the Judea province of the ancient Roman Empire (Fig 4). This painting became part of the series entitled The Trilogy of Execution. Prior to the trip Vereshchagin studied many contemporary accounts of Western travelers, read the text of the Old and New Testaments, and consulted many ethnographic and literary sources. Upon arrival, the artist was captivated by the solemn beauty and the diverse human types of the Holy Land, and was inspired by its historic monuments and sites seen as sacred by the Christians, the Jews, and the Muslims. In 1889 Valerii Gribayedoff, a writer for the prestigious Cosmopolitan magazine noted: "With the same characteristic ardor and tireless energy that marked his previous explorations, he [Vereshchagin] delved deep into the artistic treasures of the Holy Land. Months and months were passed amidst the crumbling ruins and among the pilgrims of all nationalities, until he has secured data, not simply for the creation of his subsequent masterpieces, but also to support his religious and artistic convictions." With a keen eye for observation, the artist kept detailed accounts during his travels to Jaffa, the banks of the Dead Sea, river Jordan, and many historic sites in Jerusalem and its environs. His memoirs entitled "Palestinian Accounts" were later published in 1891 in a popular magazine Khudozhnik in St. Petersburg. Inspired by the important cultural monuments in the region, Vereshchagin painted many sites significant to Jewish as well as Christian traditions. Among his subjects were the Tomb of Abraham, the Valley of Ezdraelon, the Tombs of the Kings, the remains of the ancient town of Bethsaida, old Jewish Tombs near Jerusalem and many other sites significant to the Judaic-Christian tradition. What was planned to be a short study trip for one painting became an adventure, which resulted in a collection of works known as the Palestinian series, of which the current work is one of the finest examples.
Solomon's Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall in the city of Jerusalem, is the only remaining stretch of the western side of the stone platform on which stood the original Second Temple of Jerusalem. The First Temple, originally built by Solomon in the 10th century B.C., was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Rebuilt later by the Persians under Cyrus the Great, the Second Temple survived and was expanded. In 70 A.D. the Romans leveled it as a reprisal for the Jewish uprising. The remaining wall survived 500 years of Christian Byzantine rule and repeated persecution of Jews until Jerusalem was conquered by the Muslim armies under Omar in 638 A.D. This section of the western wall which has remained intact became endeared to the Jews as the holiest place of assembly and prayer. Many artists before Vereshchagin found the wall an inspiring subject. Vereshchagin's own art instructor, the much admired Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904), with whom the artist studied between 1864-1867, immortalized the subject in his masterpiece completed in 1877, fourteen years after he visited the famous site (Fig 5.) Austrian artist Gustav Bauernfeind (1848-1904) painted three versions of the subject, the last one in 1904 (Fig. 6), ironically the very same year when all three of the artists died. Both Gérôme and Bauernfeind painted the scene imbued with considerable solemnity befitting the rendering of a sacred site. Both artists chose not to show the crowded conditions they witnessed during Good Friday. While many details of the site are documentary, such as the size and the color of the stones as well as height of the wall, the ancient Hebrew characters carved into the stones are not true to the monument itself and were most likely added by Bauernfeind to his painting as a decorative flourish. Vereshchagin's work is far from the romantic idealization or religious fervor present in the works of his European colleagues. His painting shows a sun-drenched weathered stone wall towering over the large crowd of pilgrims, who, weary from a long travel, sit, stand and kneel in front of the sacred remnants of the ancient Temple. Hundreds of worshipers of all ages and walks of life crowd the space hoping to gain a private solemn moment at the Wailing Wall, but instead find themselves waiting their turn in the long line of pious believers. It is not a Biblical drama, but a common scene, one that feels almost journalistic in its natural sense of authenticity. From the smaller version of painting (Fig. 7) it becomes clear that the artist re-worked the composition to achieve a much more immediate and direct impression from the scene. The arrangement of the figures is much tighter, and more compact. It is not the enormity of the stone wall that captures the imagination; it is the parade of characters in the unfolding human drama that takes the center stage.
A talented writer and journalist, Vereshchagin left a vivid description of the scene the way he first saw it, which was subsequently included in the exhibition catalogues of his works from this period:
The six lower ranges of these splendid stones are beyond doubt of the time of David and Solomon, the next rows may be attributed to Herod, while the upper and smallest date from the Mohammedan period. This part of the great wall which surrounded the Temple is called "The Wailing Place," because the Jews for a long time past have been in the habit of coming hither - at first once a year on the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem (on payment of a heavy tax to the Mussulman authorities), and in more recent days as frequently as they wished - to bewail their past greatness and present dispersion. Seldom can anything more touching be seen. The Jews of both sexes and of all ages arrive from all parts of the world to pray and weep with loud cries, and literally to wash with their tears the sacred stones! On Friday the place is quite full of people from Palestine, Central Asia, India, Europe, and especially from Russia - all praying in the most plaintive tones, beating their breasts, rocking their bodies to and fro, or leaning motionless against the stones and weeping, weeping, weeping!
The Jews seems to bring all their sorrows and misfortunes to this place. A woman approaches with unsteady gait, throws herself against the wall, and in an agonizing voice implores God to give her back her dead child. Farther on two Jews, wearied with praying, are talking business. "Have you bought? What have you paid? Too dear!" and so on. After this interlude they recommence praying and weeping.
An old Rabbi is sitting in his corner on a stone or on empty wine box with the inevitable "Bordeaux" mark, and with eyes full of tears reads in his book: "O God, the heathen are coming into thine inheritance; the holy temple have they defiled; they have laid Jerusalem in heaps. We have become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and derision to them that are round about us. How long, Lord? Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?"
The artist's keen sense of observation, ability to notice the most typical individual characteristics, and acute sensitivity to cultural differences allowed him to document a historical scene with photographic accuracy. In order to achieve such accuracy of depiction, the artist painted a large number of sketches, two of which are known to exist today. (Fig.8) Critics were unanimous in their praise of the painting, calling Solomon's Wall "one of the gems of the Palestinian collection, indeed of the artist's entire work".
The entire Palestinian series was completed in Paris during 1884-1885. In addition to topographic views of Palestine and Syria, Vereshchagin worked on a small series of paintings depicting various episodes in the life of Jesus. Two of them in particular, The Holy Family (Fig.9) and The Resurrection of Christ (Fig.10), created a significant amount of controversy and became the reason why the entire Palestinian series disappeared from public view shortly after its European and American debuts. In the first painting Vereshchagin approached the New Testament subjects from a rationalist or positivist point of view, presenting the Holy Family in a prosaic setting occupied with their daily chores, and stripping the subject from the usual glorifying undertones. In The Resurrection of Christ Jesus was depicted as a person who had just awakened from the lethargic sleep and attempts to recover his bearings. Such treatment was a radical departure from the traditional iconography and caused a great deal of controversy when the entire Palestinian series was exhibited in Vienna in 1885. Defendants of the official Catholic doctrine found such interpretations sacrilegious and insulting, and demanded that the exhibition be closed down. In spite of the controversy the tour of the paintings continued in 1886-1888 with exhibitions in Budapest (the most controversial paintings were excluded from this show), Berlin, Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Prague, Breslau, Leipzig, Koenigsburg, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Copenhagen, London, Liverpool, and Paris. Yet international acclaim did very little to ensure the popularity of the new series in Russia. Paintings illustrating scenes from the life of Jesus, as well as The Trilogy of Execution, were banned from being shown in Russia, their photographic illustrations were confiscated, and the entire Palestinian series was buried under the cloud of controversy and bad publicity.
In light of the controversy surrounding him in Europe, Vereshchagin - with great relief - accepted an invitation to tour the US with a large exhibition showcasing his latest works. In November 1888, after an aggressive promotional campaign organized by the American Art Association, Vereshchagin's exhibition opened in the American Art Galleries in New York. Over the two months it was on view, the show was a phenomenal success. Five thousand invitations were sent out for the opening. The galleries were decorated in exotic fabrics, Oriental rugs, and artifacts collected by the artist during his travels. A classically trained Russian piano player entertained visitors with the sounds of Russian music, while two bearded men dressed in traditional costumes greeted the visitors near the entrance. The exhibition reviews were overwhelmingly positive. Clarence Cook from Harper's Weekly heralded the show as "an intellectual feast, such as none other presented to the public for the last twenty-five years," others predicted that the entire "winter season of 1888 will at least be recalled for many years as the epoch of Vasilii Vereshchagin's advent in New York."
From New York the exhibition traveled to Chicago, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston. During this time, hundreds of thousands of visitors attended the show. When the tour ended in 1891, the works returned to New York City, where the entire collection of 110 paintings was auctioned off for $84,300. Solomon's Wall was sold for $2,500 ($3000 according to a Russian account). Only a few paintings were acquired by public institutions; most of the works were purchased by private collectors.
Since the public auction of 1891 only a handful of paintings from the Palestinian series resurfaced on the open art market.
Ruins of a Samaritan Temple at Shechem
Sold at Christie's
Forbes Magazine Collection of Orientalist Paintings, drawings, watercolors and Sculpture, New York, October 14, 1993, lot 137
Entrance to the Tombs of the Kings
Erroneously called Two Arabs in White Kaftans under a Stone Arch
Sold at Christie's
Forbes Magazine Collection of Orientalist Paintings, drawings, watercolors and Sculpture, New York, October 14, 1993, lot 176
The Cave Endor
Sold at Christie's
Russian Pictures, London, November 30, 2005, lot 82
Russian Hermit of the Grotto on the Jordan
Sold at Sotheby's
Russian Art, New York, April 26, 2006, vol. 1, lot 10
Only a few of sketches and a single painting entitled Tombs of the Kings (Russian State Museum, St. Petersburg) ended up in Russian collections. Never exhibited in Russia, and banned from the art reviews, the Palestinian series remains virtually unknown to Russian art collectors with many of its paintings believed to be lost. Having enjoyed phenomenal, albeit brief, success in America, this important series was sold piecemeal to private collections, where most of the paintings remain today. As a result, the rarity and the historical significance of the current painting can hardly be overestimated.
We are grateful to Mr. Valentin Rodionov, Director of the State Tretiakov Gallery, and Mrs. Lidia Iovleva, Deputy Director, for their assistance with organizing the exhibition of the present painting at the State Tretiakov Gallery.
Sale room notice
Please note that the frame for this lot must be purchased separately.