Swertschkoff W. Soldiers in front of barracks. 1848
Wladimir von Swertschkoff
Soldiers in front of barracks
1848
Oil on canvas. 53 х 71 cm
The Russian Museum
The painting now belonging to the Russian Museum relates to the early period of Wladimir Swertschkoff’s creative work. It was painted during his stay in Munich. During those years he was involved in “military painting”. The painting is interesting due to the fact that among the officers, soldiers and several civil persons there is an artist’s drawing on the surface of the open door depicting a figure of a man with his hands folding on his chest. As a young man Wladimir von Swertschkoff was himself a serviceman, in fact a second lieutenant of the 21nd infantry division in Helsinki. He retired from military service in 1843 because of his passion for art and entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts into the studio of professor Bogdan (Gottfried) Willewalde (1818-1903), having chosen the genre of battle painting as his profession. He was dreaming about travelling to the Caucasuses in order to see the hostilities