The article examines the paintings of the founder of the Russian battle seascape A. P. Bogolyubov, dedicated to the battles of the Russian Navy in the wars with Turkey and Sweden. These pictures serve as visual sources of famous military events. The author comes to the conclusion about the importance of the creative heritage of A.P. Bogolyubov for the studying military history of Russia. The article emphasizes the relevance of the presentation of his paintings in teaching the discipline "History" to cadets of military universities.