[2] Vereshchagin's English-language exhibition catalogs referred to the painting as Blowing from Guns in British India, but it is now misleadingly known as Suppression of the Indian Revolt by the English.

[1] 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.

[11] Another popular misconception about the work is that the painting was bought and destroyed by the British government to prevent further negative publicity about imperial violence.

The work depicts a real event from 1872, when Deputy-Commissioner J. L. Cowan executed a group of Namdhari Sikhs at the parade grounds in Malerkotla.

During his 1882 trip Vereshchagin created a study for "Blowing from Guns", now conserved at the Russian Museum, which shows that the soldiers are dressed in uniforms contemporary to that time and are using more modern cannons.

When Blowing from Guns was displayed in London at the Grosvenor Gallery, many audiences mistakenly assumed it showed one of the executions of Sepoys that took place after the Indian Rebellion of 1857.