The Russian painter Vladimir Nikolayevich Aralov painted mostly landscapes, and sometimes also still lifes and genre scenes.

Vladimir Aralov was born in Moscow in 1893. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under Abram Yefimovich Arkhipov and Apollinariy Mikhailovich Vasnetsov. In 1913, he started participating in exhibitions. His first solo exhibition was held in Moscow in 1950.

In his art, Vladimir Aralov explored the life of Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky. He also created an extensive series of architectural landscapes “Monuments of Moscow and the Moscow Region”.

The Khimki Art Gallery houses Vladimir Aralov’s painting from the architectural series “The Gate Church of the Alexandrov Convent”. The artist depicted the western façade of the Gate Church of Theodore Stratelates. The church is located over the Holy Gates of the Holy Dormition Convent at the Alexandrov Kremlin.

In the early 16th century, the Alexandrov Kremlin was a country residence of Tsar Vasili III. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the Kremlin became the center of the oprichnina organization and the unofficial capital of Russia. It was there that Ivan the Terrible came to protect himself from boyar intrigues and alleged conspiracies. In the mid-17th century, the Dormition Convent was founded on the ruins of the tsar’s residence destroyed by Poles during the Time of Troubles.

The Gate Church of the Great Martyr Theodore Stratelates was erected above the western Holy Gate in 1682.

The church design corresponds to the architectural tradition of Vladimir and Suzdal: the church is decorated with many arches, lancet windows, pilaster strips, semi-columns, and other architectural elements. The white stone church is crowned with three domes and gilded crosses.

Young fir trees grow at the convent’s white wall. Their dark green color contrasts with the light green grass and emphasizes the milky whiteness of the walls. Behind the convent wall, the Trinity Cathedral rises stately among the green trees. The sky above the Holy Dormition Convent is cloudless, soft turquoise. The painting evokes a sense of calmness and tranquility of a warm summer day.