Apollinary Vasnetsov. The Moscow Torture Chamber. Late 16th Century

Apollinary Vasnetsov's painting of 1912 takes the viewer back to Moscow at the end of the 16th century. Its second title, given in the catalogue, specifies the setting: "The Konstantino-Eleninskaya Gate of the Moscow Torture Chamber at the Turn of the 16th and 17th Centuries".

The Konstantino-Eleninskaya Tower of the Kremlin was built in 1490 by the Italian architect Pietro Antonio Solari. It was a gate tower linking the Kremlin with Kitay-gorod; its gate was covered by a barbican from which a bridge was lowered. People called it the Torture Tower because it held a dungeon, and in the 17th century the Robbery Office (Razboyny Prikaz) with an underground prison was set up here. In 1772 the passage through the tower was closed; the arch of the walled-up gate can still be seen from the side of Vasilyevsky Descent.

Apollinary Vasnetsov (1856–1933) was the younger brother and pupil of Viktor Vasnetsov. From 1918 he headed the Commission for the Study of Old Moscow and carried out archaeological research during earthworks in the city centre. The Museum of Moscow holds a whole series of his paintings and graphic works devoted to the city. This picture is painted in oil on canvas.