The paintings of Vereshchagin are famous for their thematic note of the East in Russian art. The picture “Doors of Timur” to that confirmation. It can be attributed to the Turkestan cycle, it was written in 1872-1873. This picture does not show us some kind of event, it creates the image of the past on the contrary, transferring us to the era of the brutal commander.
Looking at the picture, we see the entrance to Tamerlane’s mansion. Realistically Vereshchagin painted ancient doors. One can even imagine how Timur himself comes out of them. The picture seems to be a bit dark, as Vereshchagin tried to emphasize the ornament of the doors and the costumes of the guards. They are like wax figures, set for beauty.
The artist does not attach importance to the faces of the guards, on the contrary he shows us the cruelty of that era, with such details as: national costumes, sabers, bows, arrows, shields, spears. Their immobility once again shows us the senseless, dark and cruel force of despotism. It can be assumed that if one of the guards involuntarily moves, then Tamerlane will order to cut off his head.
Looking at the ornament of the door, it seems that he is luring and not letting go, and you do not understand how long you look at the door. Involuntarily you feel the heavy breath of the guards. I was interested, in addition to a heavy suit, they hold so much in their hands, can they really be able to defend themselves with all these ammunition. Another impression is that they are frozen in anticipation of the ruler, and every time the sound of footsteps causes fear in them, because you do not know what you can expect from the ruler-despot.
This picture seems unusual to me, it does not have any pictures similar in the plot. As far as I know, at the very first exhibition this picture received praise from Kramsky and Stasov.
(3 votes, average: 3.33 out of 5)