The painting by the famous Russian painter Vasily Vereshchagin ‘The Elephant Procession: The Prince of Wales Visiting Jaipur on February 4, 1876’, the second largest in the world, has been recently shown again to the visitors lost in admiration after a long 25-year separation. After a long repair and reconstruction period, the Queen Victoria Memorial art gallery’s ceremonial inauguration in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), where the masterpiece is stored, was held by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.
The giant painting (7.6 m by 5.1 m) depicts the triumph of the British colonial rule over India - a magnificent procession led by the Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VII. He appeared in the conquered country as the Viceroy of India appointed by the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to rule a huge colony. The key figure of the pompous event is sitting proudly on the elephant leading the procession decorated in a gilded palanquin. The Jaipur Maharajah sitting next to him is leaning with servility. The Maharajah is followed by his close officials sitting on the elephants covered with expensive blankets and carpets, as well as by his bodyguards in shining armour prancing on well-groomed horses, and numerous servants and musicians. It is noteworthy that Vasily Vereshchagin was an eyewitness to this event and reliably depicted it in detail to the future generations.
The high value of the painting and its outstanding size and weight slowed down the work and made it very difficult to bring the gallery into proper condition worthy of the outstanding painting that really graces the Victoria Memorial. The representative of the National Construction Corporation said that it was a difficult task to restore the vast hall without shifting the massive picture. They did not want to take any risks, so it was properly wrapped up for the entire time of their work.
It should be noted that the Russian party worried about the long lack of access to the masterpiece by the famous Russian painter and about its state has repeatedly offered the help of the Russian specialists.
“In recent years, the Russian diplomatic mission has been actively monitoring the situation related to the picture, also after the Tretyakov Gallery’s proposal to restore and display it at a personal exhibition of works by the Russian painter in Moscow in 2018,” said Alexey Idamkim, Consul General of the Russian Federation in Kolkata, to EcoTourism Expert. “However, the Indian party independently determined the fate of the painting, and since January 12 this year, it has been publicly displayed at the Royal Gallery of the Victoria Memorial Museum in Kolkata that was opened after many years of renovation. It is comforting for us to know that both the Indians and the Russians maintain a mutual interest in the cooperation in the restoration of the oil paintings. The Russian specialists have rich experience and professional skills in this.”
By the way, the oeuvre by Vasily Vereshchagin, not only a talented painter but also a historian, ethnographer researcher, writer, philosopher, and traveler who visited India twice, was previously adequately represented by the Russian Embassy in New Delhi. The colorful album ‘Indian Poem’ by Vasily Vereshchagin was released in 2014 aptly timed with the official visit of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to India. The unique publishing project was highly appreciated by the prominent Indian historian and art critic, Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan, who is the founder and permanent chairwoman of the board of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. She said that thanks to these works, increasingly more Indians can more deeply comprehend the origins and roots of long-standing, strong ties between the peoples of Russia and India.
The limited edition has over 160 illustrations. The reproductions of the paintings were provided by the State Tretyakov Gallery and the V. V. Vereshchagin Nikolaiv Art Museum (Nikolaiv, Ukraine). In the album, there is an article by I. P. Chelysheva, Ph. D. of History, and the famous journalist F. I. Bulgakov’s memoirs of Vereshchagin who was his close friend. Not only rich illustrative material graced it, but also unique diaries, first fully translated into English. The Vereshchagins kept a journal during their exciting, sometimes full of deadly risk, trip to the Indian Himalayas - to Sikkim and Kashmir (1874-75), Ladakh and Spiti (1875).
