Focus on this artwork and explain the History.
The Russian artist Vasily Vereshchagin painted Suppression of the Indian Revolt in 1884 after a trip to British India. Having already visited the Holy Land in the same trip and been inspired by its history, Vereshchagin began to consider producing a series of paintings depicting various forms of executions. One such method of execution was being "blown from a gun" in which the condemned was tied to the muzzle of a cannon and violently dismembered when the cannon was fired. That method was notably used during the suppression of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 about which Vereshchagin heard stories in India.After his return to Europe and his subsequent painting of three execution scenes (later referred to as his "trilogy of executions"), Vereshchagin took his paintings on tour in Britain and the United States. While Suppression was well-received in the United States, the painting was controversial with the British government.The painting disappeared soon after the initial sale in New York and its present location (or whether it survives at all) is unknown. A popular legend states that the painting was bought by the British government and to prevent the negative publicity associated with the painting's popularity, destroyed, in some versions even by shooting the painting itself with cannons.
Vasily Vereshchagin British India Holy Land blown from a gun dismembered Indian Rebellion of 1857