Ivan aivazovsky

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  Aivazovsky was born in the family of a merchant of Armenian origin in the town of Feodosia, Crimea on the 29th of July in 1817. His parents were under strained circumstances and he spent his childhood in poverty.
  Aivazovsky was most famous for his seascapes, which constitute more than half of his paintings. Aivazovsky is widely considered as one of the greatest seascape painters of all time.
  His main style was Romanticism.

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  With the help of people who had noticed the talented youth, he entered the Simpheropol gymnasium, and then the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he took the landscape painting course and was especially interested in marine landscapes. In the autumn of 1836 Aivazovsky presented 5 marine pictures to the Academic exhibition, which were highly appreciated. In 1837, Aivazovsky received the Major Gold Medal for Calm in the Gulf of Finland (1836) and The Great Roads at Kronstadt (1836), which allowed him to go on a long study trip abroad. However the artist first went to the Crimea to perfect himself in his chosen genre by painting the sea and views of Crimean coastal towns.

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  During the period of 1840-1844 Aivazovsky, as a pensioner of the Academy of Arts, spent time in Italy, traveled to Germany, France, Spain, and Holland. He worked much and had many exhibitions, meeting everywhere with success. He painted a lot of marine landscapes, which became very popular in Italy: The Bay of Naples by Moonlight (1842), Seashore. Calm (1843), Malta. Valetto Harbour (1844).

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  Seashore Calm (1843)
  The Bay of Naples by Moonlight (1842)

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  «Malta. ValettoHarbour»
  This is another beautiful seascape picture painted oil on canvas by Aivazovsky in 1844, when Malta was under the British rule and its capital Valetta was a ‘freeport’ very much like Aden and Singapore. In the calm seashore there are some people enjoying the sight and a boatload of people is about to enter the water. Large ships laden with goods from England made calls on this seaport everyday. This beautiful painting is held at The Russian Museum at St. Petersburg.

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  When in 1844 the artist returned to St. Petersburg, he was awarded the title of Academician, and became attached to the General Naval Headquarters. This allowed him to travel much with Russian fleet expeditions on different missions; he visited Turkey, Greece, Egypt, America. From 1846 to 1848 he painted several canvases with naval warfare as the subject; the pictures portrayed historical battles of the Russian Fleet The Battle of Chesme (1848), The Battle in the Chios Channel (1848), Meeting of the Brig Mercury with the Russian Squadron… (1848).

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  The Battle of Chesme (1848)
  Meeting of the Brig Mercury with the Russian Squadron… (1848)

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  Towards the 1850s the romantic features in Aivazovsky’s work became increasingly pronounced. This can be seen quite clearly in one of his best and most famous paintings The Ninth Wave (1850) and also in Moonlit Night (1849), The Sea. Koktebel. (1853), Storm (1854) and others.

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  1853. Oil on canvas.
  The Aivazovsky Art Gallery, Feodosia, Ukraine.

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  The process, which determined the development of Russian art in the second half of the 19th century, also affected Aivazovsky. A new and consistently realistic tendency appeared in his work, although the romantic features still remained. The artist’s greatest achievement of this period is The Black Sea (1881), a picture showing the nature of the sea, eternally alive, always in motion. Other important pictures of the late years are The Rainbow (1873), Shipwreck (1876), The Billow (1889), The Mary Caught in a Storm (1892).

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  The Black Sea (1881)
  The Mary Caught in a Storm (1892)

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  Aivazovsky left more than 6000 pictures, which are of very different value. There are masterpieces and there are very timid works. He failed to draw landscapes, could not draw a man. Aivazovsky got good commissions and became rich. He spent much money for charity, especially for his native town, he opened in Feodosia the first School of Arts (in 1865), then the Art Gallery (in 1889). He was a member of Academies of Stuttgart, Florence, Rome and Amsterdam.

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Influence

Aivazovsky was the most influential seascape painter in nineteenth-century Russian art. According to the Russian Museum, «he was the first and for a long time the only representative of seascape painting» and «all other artists who painted seascapes were either his own students or influenced by him.»

Arkhip Kuindzhi (1841/2–1910) is cited by Krugosvet encyclopedia as having been influenced by Aivazovsky. In 1855, at age 13–14, Kuindzhi visited Feodosia to study with Aivazovsky, however, he was engaged merely to mix paints and instead studied with Adolf Fessler, Aivazovsky’s student. A 1903 encyclopedic article stated: «Although Kuindzhi cannot be called a student of Aivazovsky, the latter had without doubt some influence on him in the first period of his activity; from whom he borrowed much in the manner of painting.» English art historian John E. Bowlt wrote that «the elemental sense of light and form associated with Aivazovsky’s sunsets, storms, and surging oceans permanently influenced the young Kuindzhi.»

Aivazovsky also influenced Russian painters Lev Lagorio, Mikhail Latri, and Aleksey Ganzen (the latter two were his grandsons).

Legacy

Aivazovsky’s house in Feodosia, where he had founded an art museum in 1880, is open to this day as the Aivazovsky National Art Gallery. It remains a central attraction in the city and holds the world’s largest collections (417) of Aivazovsky paintings. A statue of the artist stands in front.

Posthumous honors

The Soviet Union (1950), Romania (1971), Madagascar (1988), Armenia (first in 1992), Russia (1995), Ukraine (1999), Abkhazia (1999), Moldova (2010), Kyrgyzstan (2010), Burundi (2012), and Mozambique (2013) have issued postage stamps depicting Aivazovsky or his works. The minor planet 3787 Aivazovskij, named after Aivazovsky, was discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Chernykh in 1977.

In 2016 and 2017 the 200th anniversary of Aivazovsky was celebrated with major exhibitions in several countries. An exhibition featuring 120 paintings and 55 etchings of Aivazovsky was held at the Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val in Moscow from 29 July to 20 November 2016 dedicated to his 200th anniversary of birth. In the first 2 weeks, the exhibition had around 55,000 visitors, a record number. 38 of the works were moved from the Aivazovsky Art Gallery in Feodosia, which prompted Ukraine to call for an international boycott of the Tretyakov Gallery as it considers Crimea an occupied territory. Exhibitions were also held at the National Art Museum of Ukraine in Kiev, and the National Gallery of Armenia in Yerevan.

Auctions

Aivazovsky’s paintings began appearing in auctions (mostly in London) in the early 2000s. Many of his works are being bought by Russian oligarchs. His works have risen steadily in auction value. In November 2004, his Saint Isaac’s Cathedral On A Frosty Day, a rare cityscape, sold for around £1 million ($2.1 million). In 2007, his painting American Shipping off the Rock of Gibraltar auctioned at £2.71 million, «more than four times its top estimate». It was, «the highest price paid at auction for Aivazovsky» at the time. In April 2012, his 1856 work View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus was sold at Sotheby’s for a record $5.2 million (£3.2 million), a tenfold increase since it was last at an auction in 1995.

Stolen paintings

In January 2011 a number of paintings, including those of Aivazovsky, were stolen from the country house of Aleksandr Tarantsev, an owner of a chain of jewelry stores in Russia. In 2017 it was reported that a fake of one of the paintings stolen from Tarantsev’s house was presented to Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan by the Pyunik foundation.

In June 2015 Sotheby’s withdrew from auction an 1870 Aivazovsky painting Evening in Cairo, which was estimated at £1.5–2 million ($2–$3 million), after the Russian Interior Ministry claimed that it was stolen in 1997 from a private collection in Moscow. These allegations were not maintained before the English court, which ordered the return of the painting to the seller. In 2017 View on Revel (1845), stolen from the Dmitrov Kremlin Museum in 1976, was found at Koller Auktionen in Zürich, Switzerland.

Встреча с Пушкиным

В 1836 году Айвазовский принял участие в учебном походе Балтийского флота, это дало новую почву для творчества. Семь картин Айвазовского в том том же году получили высокую оценку художественных критиков и публики. На выставке этих работ побывал сам Александр Сергеевич Пушкин. О своей встрече с поэтом Айвазовский вспоминал всю жизнь.

Сумерки в бухте Золотой Рог

За блестящие успехи в живописи Иван Айвазовский получил много наград: так в 1837 году ему дали золотую медалью. Благодаря этой награде Айвазовский смог поехать за границу, где оттачивал свое художественное мастерство. Картины, написанные под впечатлением от путешествия имели огромный успех и покорили всю Европу.

Айвазовский в Италии

Особое впечатление на художника произвела Италия. Айвазовский познакомился с Николаем Васильевичем Гоголем и побывал с ним во Флоренции. В это время художник не просто копировал увиденные морские пейзажи, он писал свои впечатления от моря, выплескивал на холст все, что накопилось в душе.

Неаполитанский залив

Айвазовский не представлял себя без живописи, за всю свою жизнь художник создал около 6000 картин. Некоторые из них находятся в Музеях культуры, в художественных галереях, какие-то остались лишь в частных коллекциях.

Тифлис

Одним из самых плодотворных периодов в творческой биографии Айвазовского считается итальянский период. Даже Ватикан купил для своей галереи большое Полотно Айвазовского «Хаос». В 1844 году Айвазовский вернулся в Россию, здесь ему присвоили звание академика, встретили с большой теплотой. Айвазовский имел возможность ходить в плавание на военных кораблях, получил доступ к документам Адмиралтейства. В 1845 году Иван Айвазовский побывал в очередной экспедиции у берегов Турции и Малой Азии. Новые впечатления позволили создать новые шедевры.

Хаос. Сотворение мира. 1841

Наследие Айвазовского

В 1845 году Иван Константинович Айвазовский вернулся в Феодосию, начал ездить по Родине. Темой его работ стали зарисовки из жизни маленьких приморских городков, поселений рыбаков. Эти полотна полны восхищением жизнью простых людей. Море относятся к ним тепло и спокойно, она умиротворенно принимает их, помогает им прокормиться и держит в своих объятиях маленький кораблик или крошечную рыбацкую лодку.

«Ночь в Гурзуфе» (1891)

Многие знают Айвазовского по картинам, которые изображают море бушующим и мрачным, сметающим все на своем пути. Самым знаменитым полотном Айвазовского называют «Девятый вал». Картина была написана в 1850 году, сейчас она находится в собрании Государственного Русского музея. Эта картина — манифест, гимн стихии, ее суровому нраву. И в то же время — памятник стойкости и мужеству людей, которые выходили на схватку с морем.

И. К. Айвазовский. Девятый вал. 1850

В Феодосии Айвазовский с построил себе дом с мастерской. Накануне смерти в 1900 году Иван Константинович Айвазовский подарил городу свой дом, мастерскую и коллекцию картин. Приезжая в Крым, поклонники Айвазовского, всегда стараются посетить картинную галерею, чтобы посмотреть на шедевры величайшего мариниста своей эпохи.

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Learning to Swim

Armenian by birth, Ovannes Aivazyan was a native of Feodosia, a city on the Black Sea. You can imagine where young Aivazovsky got his life-long inspiration! The artist lived there most of his life and built for himself a luxurious estate.

At an early age, Aivazovsky showed outstanding musical abilities. Without any help, he learned to play the violin quite well. And if it were not for his later-revealed talent in painting, then who knows – maybe the world would have recognized Aivazovsky as a famous musician?

Ivan Aivazovsky, Aivazovsky a child playing the violin, 1880s, Aivazovsky National Art Gallery, Feodosia, Crimea. I-Aivazovsky.

His artistic abilities were also evident. Aivazovsky entered the Imperial Academy of Arts despite the fact that he had not yet reached the required age (he was under 14 years old). Alexey Olenin, the Academy president, made this decision after looking at only one drawing by Aivazovsky.

Ivan Aivazovsky, Stormy sea at night, 1849, Pavlovsk Palace, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Aivazovsky received the Grand Gold Medal of the Academy in 1837 and won a trip to Europe. The 20-year-old Aivazovsky had also graduated two years earlier than expected, since his teachers decided that the academy could not teach him anything more.

Карьера живописца

Первый показ работ художника состоялся в 1836 году. Картины Айвазовского были представлены на выставке его учителя. Одно из полотен живописца было описано в нескольких газетах и получило множество приятных комплиментов, в то время как работы Таннера оценили довольно низко.

Такое поведение публики и критиков вызвало гнев у учителя, поэтому он сорвался на ученике и пожаловался императору. В обращении к Николаю I Филипп Таннер сказал о том, что Иван не имел права показывать свои работы на его выставке без договоренности.

Слова Таннера звучали логично, а поведение Айвазовского было приравнено к преступлению. После разбирательств картины молодого творца убрали с выставки. Иван получил осуждение со стороны многих ценителей искусства, но не был отвергнут Олениным, Жуковским и Крыловым, которые в то время пользовались большим авторитетом у публики.

Эту картину Айвазовский написал вместе с Ильей Репиным. Первый художник сотворил море и скалы, а второй — самого поэта

После того как художник получил награду от императора, благодаря стараниям учителя по изобразительному искусству у детей Николая I, он уехал на Балтику. Время, проведенное на флоте, позволило Ивану получить полезный опыт об устройстве кораблей, что сделало его работы более реалистичными.

В 1837 году Айвазовский получил за свои старания золотую медаль. Награду принесла ему работа «Штиль». В 20 лет он окончил академию и отправился путешествовать. Во время поездок он смог понаблюдать множество вдохновляющих его пейзажей, благодаря чему написал прекрасные полотна, достойные внимания.

За несколько лет Иван Айвазовский объездил весь Крым, Европу и успел пожить в Петербурге.

Особенной стала картина художника под названием «Хаос». Работа была сделана в мрачных тонах, но это позволило более ярко передать реалистичность погодных условий на море. Полотно настолько получилось успешным, что в его приобретении был заинтересован сам Папа Римский. Айвазовский не стал устраивать аукцион и подарил картину бесплатно. Этот поступок сделал творца известным на весь мир.

Среди знакомых живописца отмечены такие личности, как Раевский, Брюллов, Жуковский, Глинка, Пушкин и Кипренский, и это не включая всю императорскую семью. Несмотря на обильное количество популярных во всем мире друзей, Иван отдавал предпочтение в общении своей семье.

Детство мариниста

Иван в то время увлекался рисованием. Он жил в Крыму, недалеко от Черного моря, красота которого завораживала его с ранних лет. Мальчик мог часами сидеть на берегу и наблюдать за волнами. Именно водная стихия вдохновляла будущего художника творить.

Айвазовский особенно сильно любил наблюдать за бушующим штормом на море

Бюджет семьи не позволял тратить средства на краски, кисти и холсты. Мальчик поначалу рисовал песком на пляже. Свои работы он не мог представлять родителям, сестрам и братьям, так как морская стихия прятала их под собой сразу же после сотворения. Единственный способ сохранить работы на время – создавать рисунки на стенах дома.

С помощью уголька маринист разрисовывал белые стены и показывал свои старания родителям. Мать видела, что у сына талант к искусству, а отец не разделял ее восторга. В 10 лет Иван понял, что способен помогать маме и папе. Он устроился на работу в местную кофейню, чтобы вносить лепту в семейный бюджет.

Родители понимали, что их сын вырастет самостоятельным и трудолюбивым. Несмотря на плотный рабочий график, Ваня всегда находил время для рисования. В то же время он искусно овладел игрой на скрипке, что сильно повлияло на его жизнь. Первая судьбоносная встреча для будущего художника произошла с известным архитектором Яковом Кохом.

Он настолько был впечатлен работами подростка, что решил вложиться в его талант. Кох регулярно привозил мальчику новые краски, карандаши, листы и прочие принадлежности. Это позволяло мальчику развивать свой талант.

Вторая встреча, внесшая изменения в жизнь Айвазовского, была с губернатором города. Александр Казначеев услышал игру мальчика на скрипке и удивился его умениям. Он решил, что нельзя упускать из виду такое дарование и подарил ему шанс на получение хорошего образования.

Иван Айвазовский во время учебы в академии являлся самым младшим учеником

С 1830 года Айвазовский являлся учеником симферопольской гимназии. Позднее он познакомился с Натальей Нарышкиной – супругой губернатора крымского города. Подросток часто заходил в гости в эту семью, где пользовался богатой библиотекой и мог получать знания по живописи и искусству.

Наталья понимала, что ее статус позволяет ей помочь талантливому ребенку хорошо устроиться в жизни и стать известным творцом. Она написала письмо своему знакомому – главе академии художеств в Петербурге.

Тот, в свою очередь, связался с императором, что поспособствовало зачислению подростка в императорскую академию. Так в 13 лет Айвазовский стал учеником у мастера Воробьева. Живописец познакомил дарование с Филиппом Танкером, который повлиял на развитие карьеры художника.

Success

Aivazovsky became the most prolific Russian painter of his time. Early in his career, he was elected a member of five Academies of Fine Arts, including those of St. Petersburg (his Alma Mater). Rome, Florence, Stuttgart and Amsterdam. He was an Academician at 27, and Professor of Marine Painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, at the age of 30.

His works were highly appreciated by J.W.M. Turner, a leading English landscape and marine painter, when they met in Rome, in 1842. The art of the young marine painter Aivazovsky inspired Turner to devote a poem to him.

Aivazovsky left over 6,000 works at his death in 1900. The funds earned during his successful career as an artist enabled him to open an art school and gallery in his hometown of Feodosiya.

As of 2006, Aivazovsky’s works have been auctioned for as much as $3,200,000, and his international reputation continues to grow.

On June 14, 2007 his painting «American Shipping off the Rock of Gibraltar» sold for 2,710,000 pounds, «the highest price paid at auction for Aivazovsky». He is also said to be the most forged of all Russian painters.

On April, 2012, Ivan Aivazovsky’s canvas View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus was sold at Sotheby’s auction in London for a record $5.2 million (3.2 million pounds).

He is in the highest category #1 — an artist of the world fame, tested with time (for no less than a century)» in «United Artists Rating».

Embarking on the Ship of Success

In the years 1840–1844, the young master traveled across Europe, perfecting his skills. At first, he lived and studied in Italy. During these years he developed his own creative method and learned to work from memory. Aivazovsky, like most other painters, created all his famous seascapes in his studio, and not in situ! His studio had windows with the court view, not the sea.

Ivan Aivazovsky, Moonlit night in Capri, 1841, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Aivazovsky’s Italian paintings brought him great success, consequently, he was able to continue his European adventures. Once, while traveling, Aivazovsky’s steamer got into a heavy storm. The ship was thought to be wrecked and the artist lost. His obituaries were even published in Saint Petersburg newspapers!

Ivan Aivazovsky, The Deluge, 1864, The State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Summary of Ivan Aivazovsky

Over half of Ivan Aivazovsky’s some 6,000 paintings are maritime subjects and of these the most enduringly powerful are his turbulent seascapes that made him the success of the late Russian Empire. However, as momentum for change grew in late-19th-century Russia, Aivazovsky’s technical prowess and prolific output remained tied to his successful formula. His attachment to Romanticism remained especially apparent in his paintings of storm-tossed vessels dwarfed by natural grandeur, while his patriotic attachment to the Russia of old remained apparent in his paintings of naval victories. A younger generation of Russian artists, who engaged more creatively with a changing world, quickly eclipsed Aivazovsky in importance, but the market for his work remains buoyant to this day and his best seascapes still communicate a raw energy.

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Biography

Aivazovsky was born in the town of Feodosiya (Theodosia), Crimea (Russian Empire) to a poor Armenian family. His brother was the Armenian Archbishop Gabriel Aivazovsky. His family moved to the Crimea from Galicia (then in southern Poland, now in Ukraine) in 1812. His parents’ family name was Aivazian but in Poland it was written Haivazian. Some of the artist’s paintings bear a signature, in Armenian letters, «Hovhannes Aivazian» (Հովհաննես Այվազյան). His father taught him to play the violin and speak Polish and Ukrainian fluently. His talent as an artist earned him sponsorship and entry to the Simferopol gymnasium №1 and later the St.Petersburg Academy of Arts, which he graduated with a gold medal. Earning awards for his early landscapes and seascapes, he went on to paint a series of portraits of Crimean coastal towns before travelling throughout Europe. In later life, his paintings of naval scenes earned him a long-standing commission from the Russian Navy stationed in the Black Sea.

In 1845, Aivazovsky went to İstanbul upon the invitation of Sultan Abdülmecid I, a city he was to travel to eight times between 1845–1890. During his long sojourn in İstanbul, Aivazovsky was commissioned for a number of paintings as a court painter by the Ottoman Sultans Abdülmecid, Abdulaziz and Abdulhamid, 30 of which are currently on display in the Ottoman Imperial Palace, the Dolmabahce Museum and many other museums in Turkey. His works are also found in dozens of museums throughout Russia and the former Soviet republics, including the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. The largest collections of his works are at the Aivazovsky Art Gallery in Feodosiya, Ukraine, and the National Gallery of Armenia.

At 31, Aivazovsky married Julia Graves, an English governess in St. Petersburg. They had four daughters. The marriage was dissolved, and at the age of 65, Aivazovsky, married Anna Boornazian, a young Armenian widow from Theodosia.

Aivazovsky was deeply affected by the Hamidian massacres of Armenians in Asia Minor in 1895, painting a number of works on the subject such as «The Expulsion of the Turkish Ship,» and «The Armenian Massacres at Trevizond.» and renouncing a medal which had been awarded to him in İstanbul. He spent his last years in Feodosia where he supplied the town with water from his own estate, opened an art school, began the first archaeological excavations in the region and built a historical museum. Due to his efforts a commercial port was established at Feodosiya and linked to the railway network.Aivasovsky died in Feodosiya in 1900.

Родители художника

Великий маринист Иван Айвазовский родился в семье армян. Его мать Рипсиме Айвазян прекрасно вышивала, а отец Геворг Айвазян знал несколько языков и отличался предприимчивым характером.

Помимо Ивана, в семье воспитывалось еще четверо детей. Отцу приходилось применять смекалку, чтобы прокормить большую семью. Благодаря его навыкам и умениям, он смог успешно заниматься торговлей в Феодосии.

По случаю переезда в Феодосию, Георг Айвазян сменил имя и фамилию на Константина Айвазовского.

В те времена город находился на пике развития, что способствовало, в свою очередь, и продвижению торговли. Глава семейства прекрасно справлялся с работой торговца и приносил крупный доход в семью. Дела купца пошли на спад после того, как в 1812 году вспыхнула эпидемия чумы.

Вложения Константина Айвазовского были не оправданы, поэтому семье приходилось отказывать себе во многом. Мать старалась не только помогать в воспитании потомства, но и вносила вклад в финансовую составляющую семьи. Благодаря рукоделию, она могла обеспечивать детей и супруга продуктами питания.

Личная жизнь

Личная жизнь художника является такой же насыщенной и яркой, как его работы. Его сердце некогда принадлежало трем дамам, каждая из которых по-своему повлияла на судьбу мариниста.

Первой избранницей художника стала Мария Тальони. С танцовщицей из Венеции он познакомился во время путешествия. Девушка была старше возлюбленного на 13 лет, но это не мешало их роману успешно и стремительно развиваться. Отношения были прерваны из-за того, что у дамы на первом месте была не семья и любовь, а карьера.

Позднее Иван встретил вторую девушку. С Юлией Гревс мужчина вступил в брак в 1848 году. Девушка была дочерью медика, который работал при дворе императора. Жена подарила супругу четырех детей. Сначала родилась дочь Александра, затем Мария, позднее Елена, и самой младшей стала Жанна.

Иван Константинович иногда писал портреты. На них он изображен только самых близких людей

После рождения четырех девочек супруга живописца заболела. Она стала регулярно испытывать нервные срывы и грезила о столичной жизни с ее роскошью и балами. Айвазовский, проживший все годы в Феодосии, не желал покидать Крым, поэтому к желаниям супруги относился с равнодушием.

Непонимание послужило причиной развода. Дочери разозлились на отца и долгое время не могли наладить с ним отношения. Мать всегда настраивала девочек против отца, однако позднее дети приняли решение помириться с папой.

Третьи отношения состоялись у художника в пожилом возрасте. В 65 лет он встретил Анну Саркизову. Девушка обаяла Ивана сразу же, поэтому с предложением руки и сердца он медлить не стал. Ее портрет можно увидеть на полотне «Портрет жены художника».

Разница в возрасте между художником и третьей женой оставляла 40 лет.

Aivazovsky’s estates

Aivazovsky’s Shakh-Mamai estate in the 1890s

Aivazovsky was a major landowner who owned numerous estates in the eastern part of Crimea, mostly located not far from Feodosia. These estates delivered him significant income; more than the sale of his paintings. His earliest major estate, bestowed by the Emperor in 1848 along with a personal noble title, was the one at Shakh-Mamai (now called Ayvazovskoye). Located some 25 kilometres (16 mi) from Feodosia, it initially covered an area of 2,500 diasiatins (around 2,725 hectares (6,730 acres)). The estate had an Eastern-style house, and one of its most prominent visitors, Anton Chekhov, wrote that «It is an extravagant, fairy-tale estate of the kind you must probably find in Persia.» By the end of his life, the state had grown to include some 6,000 diasiatins of land, a dairy farm, and a steam-powered mill.

The second major estate, located in Subash (now Zolotoy Klyuch), contained some 2,500 diasiatins of land. The site contained several natural springs, which Aivazovsky acquired in 1852 from the Lansky family. The latter also sold Aivazovsky 2,362 diasiatins of land. Later, Aivazovsky supplied Feodosia with water from Subash. In both estates, vegetables were grown. He had small estates in Romash-Eli (now Romanovka), with 338 diasiatins of land covered with orchards, and the Sudak Valley, with 12 diasiatins of vineyard, along with a dacha (summer house).

In Feodosia, Aivazovsky possessed a house and a vineyard. He also owned houses elsewhere in Crimea, such as Stary Krym and Yalta. The estates inherited by his heirs were lost in the early Soviet period when they were nationalized.

The Master of the Sea

The Russian Museum in St. Petersburg held a retrospective exhibition of fifty-four major paintings by the artist from December 2016 to March 2017. Over three hundred-thousand people attended the exhibition. 

One of the most successful Russian painters of the nineteenth century, Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900) garnered world fame as one of the greatest marine artists in history. During the span of his sixty-year career as a painter, he created more than six thousand works. Most of these paintings are kept in Russian, Ukrainian and Armenian museums today, as well as private collections. He was highly respected among his piers for the exceptional quality of his work, so much so that the great Russian writer Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) popularized the saying “worthy of Aivazovsky’s brush,” which is used in Russia to describe something “ineffably lovely.”

Born into a family of Armenian merchants in Crimea along the Black Sea, Aivazovsky dedicated his life to marine painting, becoming a master of historical battle scenes dedicated to the Russian Navy. A local architect funded Aivazovsky’s education, which allowed him to study at the Imperial Academy in St. Petersburg from 1833-39 and at the studio of French marinist F. Tanner from 1835-36. After receiving numerous medals for his work he graduated from the Imperial Academy in 1839 with a first class degree and a scholarship to study in Europe. From 1840-44 he traveled throughout Europe, Malta, the Middle East, Africa and America. Upon his return to Russia in 1844, he was appointed the main painter for the Russian Navy. That same year Aivazovsky became a Full Member of the Imperial Academy. He was an honorable member of Academies of Arts in Amsterdam, Rome, Paris, Florence and Stuttgart.

Aivazovsky spent many years in his studio by the sea in Crimea, where he was able to observe the water. His paintings were created from his memory and were not done from life. Aivazovsky’s early work consisted of small sailing vessels and travellers admiring the sea from its shores. His mature work was on a large scale and contained dramatic plots depicting the romantic struggle between man and the elements in the form of the sea (The Rainbow, 1873), as well as paintings referred to as «blue marines» (The Bay of Naples in Early Morning, 1897 and Disaster, 1898). Aivazovsky is one of the few Russian masters to receive fame and recognition during his lifetime. He held numerous solo exhibitions in Europe and the United States; and his portrait was on display at the famous Ufizzi Gallery in Florence, Italy during his lifetime. In 1880, he opened an art gallery in the town of Feodosia in Crimea, which is still open today and called the I. Aivazovsky Feodosian Art Gallery. When he died he bequeathed all his paintings to the city of Feodosia.

«Ninth Wave,» 1850, oil on canvas

«The Rainbow,» 1873, oil on canvas

«The Wave,» 1889, oil on canvas

«The Bay of Naples in Early Morning,» 1897, oil on canvas

«Disaster,» 1898

The Great Sail

Ivan Aivazovsky returned to Russia in triumph. He became an academic and was assigned to the General Navy Staff as an artist.

Alexey Tyranov, The portrait of Ivan Aivazovsky, 1841, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Aivazovsky received many honorary titles (including counter admiral). He traveled a lot and captured many seas: he was in Egypt, Greece, and Anatolia. But most importantly, Aivazovsky continued to paint seascapes, which were very popular. In total, he created more than six thousand paintings. However, he made numerous replicas of a single composition, if it turned out that the public liked it.

In 1843, Ivan Aivazovsky also became the first Russian painter whose works were exhibited in the Louvre: Sea shore. Calm, Night on the shores of Naples, and Storm near the coast of Abkhazia.

Ivan Aivazovsky, Sea shore. Calm, 1843, The State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Ivan Aivazovsky, Acropolis of Athens, 1883, Kyiv Art Gallery, Kyiv, Ukraine. Ayvazovskiy.su.

To be fair, Aivazovsky painted not only deep waters but also genre scenes, mountains, and biblical scenes… But it is his marine-loving soul that made the artist famous.

Ivan Aivazovsky, The Black Sea, 1881, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

Ivan Aivazovsky, Sea. Koktebel, 1853, Aivazovsky National Art Gallery, Feodosia, Crimea.