The Nikolai Golovanov Apartment Museum houses one of the works by Apollinariy Vasnetsov called “Gergeti Trinity Church”. The painting depicts a Georgian church built around the 14th–15th centuries, which stands at an elevation near the snowy peak of Mount Kazbek.

The painting depicting the Georgian church was created by Apollinariy Vasnetsov after his trip to the Caucasus in 1895. This view inspired Alexander Pushkin so much that he wrote the poem “The Monastery on Mount Kazbek”.

The artist recorded his impressions from the trip in a sketch story called “Trip to Elbrus”, accompanying it with the drawings he made while traveling. Vasnetsov recalled, “The greatness of the Caucasus left a lasting impression on me. The snowy peaks and glaciers, sometimes concealed by moving clouds, sometimes dazzling against the blue sky, the gorges, the abysses, the rocks illuminated by the blood red glow of sunset, the steppe foothills, frozen like giant waves…” During his journey, the artist ascended the Malka glacier of Elbrus, lived in the Darial Gorge, and visited Tiflis and Kakheti. The artist Alexandre Benois said about Vasnetsov, “Among so many Russian artists who painted the Caucasus, he was the only one who managed to truly capture it.”

Apollinariy Mikhailovich Vasnetsov was dubbed the chronicler of old Moscow. Although he was a talented artist, for a long time he seemed to be completely overshadowed by his elder brother, the outstanding artist Viktor Vasnetsov, who gave the world the famous paintings “Alyonushka” and “Bogatyrs”. For many years, Apollinariy Vasnetsov studied the history and archeology of Moscow, and in 1918, he headed the Commission on Study of Old Moscow. This resulted in many paintings and graphic works that showed the reconstructed views of Moscow at different times. The images of old Moscow became the artist’s main theme.

Nikolai Golovanov’s collection included two paintings by Apollinariy Vasnetsov and twelve works by his younger brother Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov.