Nikolai Golovanov’s love for Russia and Russian classical music manifested itself not only in his career but also in his choice of works of art. Russian landscapes make up a huge part of the conductor’s collection.

Golovanov’s collection contains the painting “In Sergiyev Posad” by Konstantin Fyodorovich Yuon, well known for its prime version, which is now kept in the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg. The painting was the last of the numerous versions, depicting the Trinity Lavra of Saint Sergius. Back in 1906, Konstantin Yuon settled in the small town of Sergiyev Posad, which is located near Moscow.

The painting shows this fabulous architectural complex just as the artist found it. For him, Russian nature was distinct not only for its “sad charm” but also simplicity, fortitude, unparalleled energy and liveliness. The displayed painting has an original feature: the view is shown from a very interesting angle, as if from above. Given that the artist is positioned higher than the depicted area, it opens a broad perspective, which allows him to cover a considerable area with many people involved. This adds a certain dynamic and lively quality to the cold winter landscape, which makes it more interesting.

It is known that Nikolai Golovanov’s collection contained six works by Konstantin Yuon. For a long time, one of them was above the conductor’s desk, where he worked on productions of the operas “Khovanshchina” and “Boris Godunov”, which were designed by Konstantin Yuon.