Disclaimer
Ivan Aivazovsky
Russian Maritime Painter
1817 - 1900
Ivan Aivazovsky by Aleksey Tyranov, 1847
Ivan Aivazovsky was a Russian world-renowned painter of Armenian descent living and working in Crimea, 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 times.
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". 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 Number 1 and later the Saint 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.
Portrait of Gabriel Aivazian, the Artist's Brother: Date Unknown
In 1845, Aivazovsky went to Istanbul upon the invitation of Sultan Abdülmecid I, a city he was to travel to eight times from 1845-1890. During his long sojourn in Istanbul, 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, and the Aivazovsky Art Gallery in Feodosiya, Ukraine. The office of Turkey's Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gül, has Aivasovsky's paintings on the wall.
Sultan Abdulmecid I at the Pera Museum
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.
Portrait of the Artist's Wife: Date Unknown
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 Istanbul. 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.
The Expulsion of the Turkish Ship
Aivazovsky is best known for his seascapes and coastal scenes. His technique and imagination in depicting the shimmering play of light on the waves and sea foam is especially admired, and gives his seascapes a romantic yet realistic quality that echoes the work of English watercolorist J. M. W. Turner and Russian painter Sylvester Shchedrin. Especially effective is his ability to depict diffuse sunlight and moonlight, sometimes coming from behind clouds, sometimes coming through a fog, with almost transparent layers of paint. A series of paintings of naval battles painted in the 1840s brought his dramatic skills to the fore, with the flames of burning ships reflected in water and clouds. He also painted landscapes, including scenes of peasant life in Ukraine and city life in ?stanbul. Some critics have called his paintings from Istanbul Orientalist, and others feel the hundreds of seascapes can be repetitive and melodramatic.
Sea before the Storm: 1856
Sea View: 1841
A Lunar Night on Capri: 1841
A Rocky Coastal Landscape in the Aegean with
Ships in the Distance (Detail): 1884
Seascape: 1870
Seascape: 1871
Seascape: 1874
Seascape: Date Unknown
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 prominent English landscape and marine painter. He was so struck by the picture "The Bay of Naples on a Moonlit Night" that he dedicated a rhymed eulogy in Italian to Aivazovsky:
The Bay of Naples on a Moonlit Night: 1842
In this your picture
Of a mighty king!
I see the moon, all gold and silver.
Forgive me if I err, great artist,
Reflected in the sea below...
Your picture has entranced me so,
And on the surface of the sea
Reality and art are one,
There plays a breeze which leaves a trail
And I am all amazement.
Of trembling ripples, like a shower
So noble, powerful is the art
Of fiery sparks or else the gleaming headdress
That only genius could inspire!
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.
American Shipping off the Rock of Gibraltar: 1873
On April, 2012, Ivan Aivazovsky's canvas "View of Constantinople and the Bosporus" was sold at Sotheby's auction in London for a record $5.2 million (3.2 million pounds).
View of Constantinople and the Bosporus
Quoted From: Ivan Aivazovsky - Wikipedia
For Additional Background Information: Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900) - Biography
Various Works of Ivan Aivazovsky
A Lunar Night: 1849
A Lunar Night in Constantinople: 1862
A Lunar Night in the Crimea: 1859
A Lunar Night on the Black Sea: 1855
A Lunar Night on the Bosphorus: 1894
A Moonlit View of the Bosphorus: 1884
Acropolis of Athens: 1883
After the Shipwreck: 1844
Alexander II Crossing the Danube: 1878
Among the Waves: 1898
Smugglers: 1890
Azure Grotto, Naples: 1841
Battle of Cesme at Night: 1848
Battle in the Chios Channel: 1848
Battle near Sinop: 1853
Battle near Sinop During Daylight Hours: 1853
Battle of Steamship Vesta and Turkish Ironclad: Date Unknown
Before the Battle Ship Constantinople: 1872
Boat Ride by Kumkapi in Constantinople: 1846
Brig Mercury Attacked Two Turkish Battleships: 1892
Brig Mercury after the Victory over two Turkish Ships
Byron visiting mhitarists on island of Saint Lazarus in Venice: 1892
Calm Sea: 1863
Capture Turkish Kocherma: 1880
Caravan in Oasis, Egypt: 1871
Clouds above a sea, calm: 1889
Coast of sea at night: 1847
Coffee-house by the Ortakoy Mosque in Constantinople: 1846
Constantinople Sunset: 1899
Crash: 1876
Crimean Tartars on the Sea Shore: 1850
Dusk on the Golden Horn: 1845
Embankment of an Oriental Town: 1862
Figures in a Coastal Landscape at Sunset: Date Unkmown
Entrance in the Bay of Sevastopol: 1852
Evening in the Crimea, Yalta: 1848
Exchange of Peterburg: 1847
Exploding Ship: 1900
Fishermen on coast of sea: 1852
Fishermen on the Shore: Date Unknown
Fishing Boats in a Harbor: 1854
Flock of sheep in a gale: 1861
Flock of Sheep with Herdsmen, Sunset: ca 1860-70
Frigate on a Sea: 1838
Frigate under sails: 1838
Frozen Bosporus under Snow (Detail): 1874
Gibraltar by Night: Date Unknown
Gunboat off Crete: 1897
Great Flood: 1864
Hurricane on a Sea: 1899
Ice Breakers on the Frozen Neva in Saint Petersburg: 1877
Icebergs: ca 1850-80
Icebergs in the Atlantic (Detail): 1870
In Cairo: 1881
In Harbor: 1842
Italian Landscape: 1858
Kerch: 1839
Kronshtadt, fort The Emperor Alexander: 1844
Kronstadt Raid: 1840
Lake Maggiore in the Evening: 1858
Landscape with Windmills: 1860
Little Russian Ox Cart in Winter: 1866
Loading Provisions off the Crimean Coast: 1876
Malaga: 1854
Malta Valetto Harbor: 1844
Meeting of a fishermen on coast of the Bay of Naples: 1842
Meeting of the Brig Mercury with the Russian Squadron
After the Defeat of Two Turkish Battleships: 1848
Moonlit Night: 1849
Moonlit Night, A Bathing Hut, in Feodosia: 1853
Moonlit Night: Date Unknown
Moonlit Night on the Crimea, Gurzuf: 1839
Moonlit Night: 1849
Moonlit Seascape with Shipwreck: 1863
Morning on a Sea: 1883
Moscow in Winter from the Sparrow Hills: 1872
Mountain Village Gunib in Daghestan - View from the East: 1869
Napoleon on the Island of Saint Helena: 1897
Near the Coast of Yalta: 1872
Night at Crimea View on Aiudag: 1859
Nocturnal Voyage: Date Unknown
Odessa: 1840
Odessa at Night: 1846
On the Island of Crete: 1867
On the Storm: 1899
On the Storm: 1872
Outskirts of the Valley at Night: 1866
Ox Cart Crossing a Flooded Plain: 1897
Parade of the Black Sea Fleet in 1849
Peter the First to light a watch fire: 1846
Pushkin on the Coast of the Black Sea: 1887
Pushkin in Gurzuf: 1880
Pushkin and Countess Raevskaya by the Sea near Gurzuf and Partenit: 1886
Farewell Pushkin to the Sea: 1877
Range of the Caucasus Mountains: 1869
Rescue at Sea (Detail): 1872
Revel: 1844
River Rioni, Georgia: ca 1870-80
Rocky Island: 1855
Rough Sea: 1844
Rough Sea at Night: 1853
Rush on Dnepr near Aleshki: 1857
Russian Squadron on the Raid of Sevastopol: 1846
Sea: 1864
Sea: 1867
Sea: 1881
Sea: 1882
Sea: 1895
Sea: 1898
Sea Battle near Navarine: 1846
Sea Battle near Navarine: 1848
Sea Battle near Revel: 1846
Sea Battle near Vyborg: 1846
Sea before the Storm: 1856
Sea Channel with Lighthouse: 1873
Sea Coast: 1840
Sea etude: 1898
Sea View: 1867
Sea View: 1895
Sea View by Moonlight: 1878
Sea View with Chapel: 1845
Seascape: 1850
Seascape in Crimea: 1866
Seashore, Calm: 1843
Sebastopol: 1852
Ships in the Stillness of the Night: 1888
Ship in a Stormy Sea off the Coast: 1895
Ship on Stormy Seas: Date Unknown
Ships in a Storm: 1860
Ships on a Raid: 1851
Shipwreck on the Black Sea: 1875
Smolny Convent, Sunseat: 1847
Storm: 1854
Storm: 1872
Storm: 1886
Storm: 1889
Storm on the Sea: 1899
Stormy Sea: 1868
Sunny Day: 1884
Sunseat on a Sea: 1848
Sunset at Sea: Date Unknown
Sunset over the Golden Horn: 1866
Surf: 1895
Surf near the Coast of Crimea: 1892
Survivors: 1844
Sveaborg: 1844
Tempest, Sunset: 1856
Tempest: 1850
Tempest: 1872
Tempest above Evpatoriya: 1861
Tempest by a Rocky Coast: 1875
Tempest by Cape Aiya: 1875
Tempest by the Coast of Nice: 1885
Tempest by the Coast of Odessa: 1898
Tempest on Ice Ocean: Date Unknown
Tempest on the Black Sea: 1875
Tempest on the Northern Sea: 1865
Tempest on the Sea at Night: 1849
The Battle of Chesme: 1848
The Bay Golden Horn, Turkey: 1845
The Bay Golden Horn in Istanbul: 1872
The Bay of Naples: 1841
The Bay of Naples: 1845
The Bay of Naples at moonlit night, Vesuvius: 1840
The Bay of Naples at moonlit night: 1842
The Bay of Naples by Moonlight: 1850
The Bay of Naples by Moonlight: 1892
The Bay of Naples on a Misty Morning: 1874
The Bay of Naples on a Morning: 1843
The Billow: 1889
The Black Sea: 1881
The Black Sea at Night: 1870
The Black Sea Fleet in Feodosiya: 1839
The Capture of the Turkish Navy on the Black Sea: 1877
The Caucasian Range from the Sea: 1899
The Coast at Amalfi: 1841
The Daryal Canyon: 1862
The Gale on Sea is Over: 1839
The Gondolier on Sea at Night: 1843
The Great Roads at Kronstadt: 1836
The Harbor of Venice, the Island of San-Georgio: 1844
The Harbor of Odessa on the Black Sea: 1852
The Island of Rhodes: 1861
The Landing of Raevsky N. N. near Subashi: 1839
The Landing to Subashi: 1880
The Lighthouse of Naples: 1842
The Mary Caught in a Storm: 1892
The Monastery of Saint George, Cape Fiolent: 1846
The Moonrise in Feodosiya: 1892
The Mountain Ararat: 1885
The Niagara Waterfall: 1894
The Niagara Waterfall: 1899
Night - Constantinople: 1886
The Old Feodosia: 1839
The Old Feodosia: 1845
The Pier in Feodosia: 1840
The Rainbow: 1873
The Rescue: 1849
The Rescue: 1857
The Roads at Kronstadt: 1840
The Ruins of Pompei: 1889
The Sea Koktebel: 1852
The Seashore of Amalfi: 1841
The Ship near the Coast: ca 1880-90
The Ships on a Rough Sea, Sunrise: 1871
The Shipwreck: 1843
The Shipwreck: 1864
The Shipwreck: 1865
The Shipwreck: 1871
The Shipwreck: 1875
The Shipwreck: 1876
The Shipwreck: 1880
The Shipwreck near Mountain of Aphon: 1856
The Shipwreck near Rocks: ca 1870-80
The Shipwreck on Northern Sea: 1875
The Sunrise: 1874
The Sunrise in Feodosiya: 1855
The Sunset on Sea: 1848
The Sunset on Sea: 1866
The Tenth Wave: 1860
The Varangians on the Dnieper: 1876
Thunderstorm: 1892
Tower Shipwreck: 1847
Towers on the Rock near the Bosporus: 1853
Venice: 1842
Venice: 1844
Venice: 1849
Venice: 1874
View of a Seaside Town: 1877
View of Amalfi: 1843
View of Constantinople by Evening Light: 1846
View of Constantinople by Moonlight: 1846
View of the Crimea: Date Unknown
View of Feodosiya: 1845
View of Leandrovsk Tower in Constantinople: 1848
View of Odessa: 1865
View of Odessa by Moonlight: 1846
View of Saint Petersburg: 1888
View of the Ayu Dag, Crimea: 1848
View of the Coast Near Saint Petersburg: 1835
View of the Big Cascade in Petergof and the Great Palace of Petergof: 1837
View of the Sea by Moonlight: 1878
View of the Sea from the Mountains at Sunset, Crimea: 1864
View of Tiflis: 1868
View of Tiflis: 1869
View of Vico near Naples: 1855
View of Yalta (Detail): 1867
View of Yalta, Evening: ca 1860-70
View on a Lagoon of Venice: 1841
The Volga near Zhigulevskie Hill: 1887
Warning of a Storm: 1851
Windmill on the Sea Coast: 1837
Winter Scene in Little Russia: 1868
Yalta: 1838
Related Source Material for the Paintings of Ivan Aivazovsky:
The Athenaeum - Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
Gallerix - Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky: 1817-1900
This page is the work of Senex Magister
Return to Pagina Artis
Return to Bruce and Bobbie's Main Page.