How far can cruelty go? Crucifixion by the Romans is an oil painting created in 1887 by the Russian artist Vassili Vereshchagin (1842–1904), known for his powerful and uncompromising depictions of the atrocities of war. Trained at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg and later in Paris, Vereshchagin traveled extensively, committed to showing the raw reality of conflicts, beyond any glorification. This painting represents a public execution under the Roman Empire. Three men are nailed to cr