The Orient had an important place in V.V. Vereshchagin’s art. He was interested in the history, culture and life of the peoples living here. The Doors of Timur (Tamerlane) belongs to the artist’s series of paintings created after his two visits to Turkestan. The decorative carvings of the Gur-e Amir mausoleum’s doors in Samarkand, the bright exotic clothes of the armed guards are depicted with photographic accuracy. At the same time, the static nature of the composition, the posture of the warriors frozen at the door create a feeling of stability, inviolability of Oriental life, as opposed to the dynamics of European civilization. Ivan Kramskoi wrote the following for good reason:

“These heavy, extremely old doors with amazing ornamentation, these figures, sleepy, motionless, like door knobs, like some furniture, like the said ornament, transfer you to Central Asia in such a way... that even if you write books, as many you want, you will not cause such impression, as one such painting”.
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow