'Skobelev on the Shipka', c1878, (1939). The scene after the taking of the Shipka Pass by Russian troops in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. General Mikhail Skobelev (1843-1882) inspects the ranks of the victors, while the bodies of the enemy lie in the snow. The battle, fought between the Bulgarians, aided by Russian volunteers, and the Ottoman Empire, took place at Sheynovo, near Shipka in Bulgaria. Vasili Vereshchagin (1842-1904) painted realistic battle scenes, some of which where too graphic to be exhibited. He travelled extensively and gained international recognition, and even showed his 'Turkestan' series at the Crystal Palace in London in 1873. Painting in the collection of The State Russian Museum, St Petersburg, Russia. From "The Russian State Museum". [State Art Publishers, Moscow and Leningrad, 1939]