Vasilii Polenov (1844-1927)

In September 1876 Vasilii Polenov joined the army of General Cherniaev as a volunteer to assist the Serbians in their fight against oppression. His impressions of this war, illustrated in his drawings and paintings, were published in the magazine Pchela after his return to St Petersburg at the end of 1876.

Painted in 1876 at Polenov's Paris studio at 72 rue Blanche, The Herzegovinian on lookout was exhibited later that year at the Academy Exhibition. In January 1877 the asking price for the painting was 600 rubles (see E. V. Sakharova, V. D. Polenov, Moscow, 1950, p. 140).