To War is a painting by the Russian artist Konstantin Savitsky (1844–1905), completed in 1888. It belongs to the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg (Inventory No. Zh-4228). The dimensions of the canvas are 207.5 × 303.5 cm. Alternative titles are also used, including Sending Recruits Off to War and Seeing Off to War. The narrative revolves around the scene of soldiers going off to war, parting with their loved ones. It takes place during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.

Savitsky commenced work on the painting, entitled To War, during the second half of the 1870s. The initial version of the painting, completed in 1880, was exhibited at the 8th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki). The appearance of Savitsky's painting at the exhibition was met with a number of critical comments - in particular, that it was overloaded with too many figures. The painting received positive reviews as well. For instance, the art critic Vladimir Stasov acknowledged that, "despite many shortcomings, there was a lot of truth and feeling in the painting". Nevertheless, in response to the considerable criticism he had received, Savitsky decided to repaint the piece. As it turned out many years later, the initial iteration of the work was cut into pieces by the artist.

The second and final iteration of the painting was presented at the 16th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions (Peredvizhniki), which opened on 28 February (11 March) 1888 in St. Petersburg. This time the painting was received more favourably: in particular, the artist Ilya Repin remarked that "Savitsky's painting 'To War' came out very well", and the critic Vladimir Stasov wrote that it was "an important page in the history of Russian art". Later, the art historian Mikhail Sokolnikov noted that Savitsky's To War was "one of the most significant paintings in the Russian realist school of painting".

History

Work on the first version of the painting and the 8th travelling exhibition Konstantin Savitsky commenced work on the painting, entitled To War, during the latter half of the 1870s. The first ideas related to the future canvas appeared to the artist while he was abroad. In 1876, Savitsky, who was then in Paris, exhibited a preliminary sketch of the painting to the artist Alexey Bogolyubov, who subsequently presented it to Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III. In the process of creating the painting, Savitsky used many studies, which he painted in Dinaburg, Moscow, near St Petersburg, and elsewhere. In a letter to the artist Ivan Kramskoi, dated 22 December 1878, Savitsky wrote: "I would give a lot to have one of my friends talk to me about the painting I am writing now. There are so many questions that one goes over in one's head in silence, and there is no answer to them."

The initial iteration of the painting, completed in 1880, was showcased at the 8th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions ("Peredvizhniki"), which commenced in St Petersburg on 6 (18) March 1880. The appearance of Savitsky's painting at the exhibition was met with a number of critical remarks. The reviewers, including authors of various periodicals, noted the painting's lack of compositional integrity, insufficient connection between groups and inaccuracies in the depiction of perspective.

The author of an article in the art and literary journal Vsemirnaya Illyustratsiya noted that the painting was "quite interesting and talented" in its details, but in some scenes "it is a motley crowd painted in two tiers", so that in general "there is not one whole picture". An observer for the Novoye Vremya newspaper wrote that Savitsky's work contained "abundant material for a dozen paintings", which was the reason that "the artist himself could not make sense of the mass of those leaving and seeing off". Nevertheless, paying tribute to the artist's skill, the author of an article in Novoye Vremya noted that "individual groups and faces are full of movement, life and expressiveness, and if you stop at them, you will read a whole drama in many faces and poses". In a review published in the newspaper Molva, the author posited that if you mentally try "to cut off as much as you like from any side of the painting or add as much to it in the same character - the content of the painting will neither win nor lose from this". The author of an article in the Peterburgskaya Gazeta noted that in Savitsky's painting "everything is interesting, but it is interesting in parts", and as a whole "there is no painting, or better to say, it is not concentrated, it is not connected together". Nevertheless, the critic from the Peterburgskaya Gazeta recognised that "the scenes and types are excellent, the expressions both in the movements and on the faces are vital, truthful and deeply felt". The art critic Vladimir Stasov observed that Savitsky's painting had an excessively grey background, although he conceded that, "despite many shortcomings, there was a lot of truth and feeling in this painting". The artist Ivan Kramskoy explained the shortcomings of the canvas, attributing them to the fact that shortly before the exhibition Savitsky had made substantial alterations to his painting, and "the alterations affected its pictorial side in the direction of deterioration".

Work on the second version of the painting and the 16th travelling exhibition Apparently under the strong impression of this criticism, Savitsky decided to create a new version of To War. It is possible that Savitsky was also influenced by the works of other artists, particularly Vasily Surikov's multi-figure historical painting, The Morning of the Streltsy Execution, which was presented at the Peredvizhniki exhibition in 1881. Some of Savitsky's studies from this period are known to exist, including those depicting characters not included in the final version of the painting, such as Crying Soldier. In the eight years between the creation of the first and second versions of the painting, Savitsky also produced other works that contributed to the identification of the images of individual characters and, in general, to the completion of the final version of the painting. In the opinion of art historian Dmitri Sarabianov, the paintings Dark People (1882, Russian Museum), Horse Thief (1883) and Krutchnik (1884) are the most appropriate examples of such works.

In his diaries, the State Secretary Alexander Polovtsov records that on 10 June 1886, at breakfast, the artist Alexei Bogolyubov informed him that the previous day, when presenting his painting The Opening of the Sea Canal to Alexander III, he had also shown the Emperor the new version of Savitsky's painting To War (perhaps one of the sketches). Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, who was present, was indignant: "What impertinence to present drunken soldiers to the sovereign!" It is possible that his response was influenced by the knowledge that Pyotr Iseev, the secretary of the Academy of Arts, was discontented. Iseev was not pleased with the fact that artists were communicating with Alexander III through other channels than himself. At the same time, the Empress Maria Feodorovna and the Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna tried to soften the "harshness of this stunt" of Vladimir Alexandrovich before Bogolyubov. Nevertheless, the final version of the painting was commissioned by Alexander III. This was likely due to the artist's removal or softening of several episodes present in the initial version of the painting, which depicted the disenfranchisement of soldiers and the abuse of authority.

In May 1887, Savitsky reported: "I am all, from the heels and to the very bush on my head, immersed in my painting. I only think how to see it as soon as possible completely established. And eat, and drink, and sleep all with the thought of it." Finally, on 23 February 1888, when the painting was finished, the artist said: "The painting is finished! It is so finished that I have decided to exhibit it; I have looked at it so closely that I could not decide myself. Tomorrow I am taking my brainchild to the exhibition." The second and final version of the painting was presented at the 16th exhibition of the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions ("Peredvizhniki"), which opened on 28 February (11 March) 1888 in St Petersburg. This time, Savitsky's painting was met with a more favourable response from experts and critics. In a letter to the publisher Vladimir Chertkov dated 14 April 1888, the artist Ilya Repin highlighted two paintings presented at the exhibition: "A good thing was here at the exhibition - Yaroshenko 'Everywhere Life'. Perhaps they have already sent it to you. And Savitsky's painting 'To War' came out very well, you should have and show both these paintings. It would not be a bad idea to publish them for the people."

Despite the favourable reviews that the painting To War received at the 16th travelling exhibition, Savitsky continued working on it, thereby postponing its transfer to the customer. In September 1888 he wrote to the painter Alexander Kiselyov: "...do you know that I, miserable, to this day am still fiddling with my big child? Not only have [I] not yet handed [it] over, but I write and write to the [point of] stupor. Had the misfortune to paint a small repetition for the province, painted outside, it came out better, and I saw the light, now I am struggling out of the darkness. It does not come easily to me."

After creation

The painting To War, was originally located in the Winter Palace. In 1897, it was transferred to the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III (subsequently renamed the State Russian Museum), where it remains to this day. The painting was initially exhibited alongside several other notable works, including Ilya Repin's Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, Vasily Surikov's Yermak's conquest of Siberia, and Vasily Polenov's Christ and the Woman Taken in Adultery. Additionally, it was displayed alongside works by Academy artists, such as Wilhelm Kotarbiński's Orgy, Konstantin Makovsky's Kissing Ceremony, and Henryk Siemiradzki's Christ and Sinner. The canvas To War is currently on display in Hall 31 of the Mikhailovsky Palace, where it can be seen alongside such works as Harvest time (The Reapers) by Grigoriy Myasoyedov, In a Warm Lands by Nikolai Yaroshenko, and others.

The fate of the first version of the painting To War, completed in 1880, remained unknown for a long time. In 1955, the State Tretyakov Gallery organised an exhibition of Konstantin Savitsky's works, presenting the second (final) version of the painting from the State Russian Museum, as well as 13 paintings and 66 graphic works related to the artist's exploration of this theme. In an article dedicated to the painting To War, which was published following this exhibition, art historian Sofia Goldstein conducted an analysis of the 13 paintings mentioned above. She divided them into two distinct groups: studies, which were characterized by incompleteness, and well-developed multi-figure compositions. Based on her analyses, she concluded that the paintings in the second group were fragments of the initial version of the painting, which had apparently been cut up by the artist. Subsequently, this perspective became generally accepted. Some fragments of the first version of the painting are housed in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Poltava Art Museum, and in a private collection in Moscow.

Subject and description