Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky is a famous Russian marine painter, author of more than six thousand canvases. Professor, academician, philanthropist, honorary member of the Academies of Arts of St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, Rome, Stuttgart, Paris and Florence.

Was born future artist in Feodosia, in 1817, in the family of Gevork and Hripsime Gaivazovsky. Hovhannes’s mother (the Armenian version of the name Ivan) was a purebred Armenian, and his father came from Armenians who migrated from Western Armenia, which found itself under Turkish rule, to Galicia. Gevork settled in Feodosia under the name Gaivazovsky, writing it down in the Polish manner.

Hovhannes's father was amazing person, enterprising, savvy. Dad knew Turkish, Hungarian, Polish, Ukrainian, Russian and even Gypsy languages. In Crimea, Gevork Ayvazyan, who became Konstantin Grigorievich Gaivazovsky, very successfully engaged in trade. In those days, Feodosia grew rapidly, acquiring the status of an international port, but all the successes of the enterprising merchant were reduced to zero by the plague epidemic that broke out after the war with.

By the time Ivan was born, the Gaivazovskys already had a son, Sargis, who took the name Gabriel as a monk, then three more daughters were born, but the family lived in great need. Repsime's mother helped her husband by selling her elaborate embroideries. Ivan grew up as a smart and dreamy child. In the morning he woke up and ran to the seashore, where he could spend hours watching the ships and small fishing boats entering the port, admiring extraordinary beauty landscapes, sunsets, storms and calms.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Black Sea"

The boy painted his first pictures on the sand, and after a few minutes they were washed away by the surf. Then he armed himself with a piece of coal and decorated the white walls of the house where the Gaivazovskys lived with drawings. The father looked, frowning at his son’s masterpieces, but did not scold him, but thought deeply. From the age of ten, Ivan worked in a coffee shop, helping his family, which did not at all prevent him from growing up as an intelligent and talented child.

As a child, Aivazovsky himself learned to play the violin, and, of course, constantly drew. Fate brought him together with the Feodosia architect Yakov Koch, and this moment is considered to be a turning point, defining in the biography of the future brilliant marine painter. Noticing the boy's artistic abilities, Koch supplied young artist pencils, paints and paper, gave the first drawing lessons. The second patron of Ivan was the mayor of Feodosia, Alexander Kaznacheev. The governor appreciated Vanya’s skillful playing of the violin, because he himself often played music.

In 1830, Kaznacheev sent Aivazovsky to the Simferopol gymnasium. In Simferopol, the wife of the Taurida governor, Natalya Naryshkina, drew attention to the talented child. Ivan began to visit her home often, and socialite placed at his disposal her library, a collection of engravings, books on painting and art. The boy worked incessantly, copied famous works, drew etudes and sketches.

With the assistance of the portrait painter Salvator Tonchi, Naryshkina turned to Olenin, the president of the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, with a request to place the boy in the academy with full board. In the letter, she described in detail Aivazovsky’s talents, his life situation and attached drawings. Olenin appreciated the young man’s talent, and soon Ivan was enrolled in the Academy of Arts with the personal permission of the emperor, who also saw the drawings sent.

At the age of 13, Ivan Aivazovsky became the youngest student at the Academy in Vorobyov’s landscape class. The experienced teacher immediately appreciated the magnitude and power of Aivazovsky’s talent and, to the best of his ability and ability, gave the young man a classical art education, a kind of theoretical and practical basis for the virtuoso painter that Ivan Konstantinovich soon became.

Very quickly the student surpassed the teacher, and Vorobiev recommended Aivazovsky to Philip Tanner, a French marine painter who arrived in St. Petersburg. Tanner and Aivazovsky did not get along in character. The Frenchman dumped all the rough work on the student, but Ivan still found time for his own paintings.

Painting

In 1836, an exhibition was held where the works of Tanner and the young Aivazovsky were presented. One of Ivan Konstantinovich’s works was awarded a silver medal, he was also praised by one metropolitan newspaper, but the Frenchman was reproached for mannerisms. Philip, burning with anger and envy, complained to the emperor about a disobedient student who had no right to exhibit his works at an exhibition without the knowledge of the teacher.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "The Ninth Wave"

Formally, the Frenchman was right, and Nicholas ordered the paintings to be removed from the exhibition, and Aivazovsky himself fell out of favor at court. The talented artist was supported by the best minds of the capital, with whom he managed to make acquaintance: President of the Academy Olenin. As a result, the matter was decided in favor of Ivan, for whom Alexander Sauerweid, who taught painting to the imperial offspring, stood up.

Nikolai awarded Aivazovsky and even sent him and his son Konstantin to the Baltic Fleet. The Tsarevich studied the basics of maritime affairs and fleet management, and Aivazovsky specialized in the artistic side of the issue (it is difficult to write battle scenes and ships without knowing their structure).

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Rainbow"

Sauerweid became Aivazovsky's teacher in battle painting. A few months later, in September 1837, the talented student received gold medal for the painting “Calm”, after which the leadership of the Academy decided to release the artist from the educational institution, since it could no longer give him anything.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky " moonlit night on the Bosphorus"

At the age of 20, Ivan Aivazovsky became the youngest graduate of the Academy of Arts (according to the rules, he was supposed to study for another three years) and went on an paid trip: first to his native Crimea for two years, and then to Europe for six years. The happy artist returned to his native Feodosia, then traveled around the Crimea and took part in the amphibious landing in Circassia. During this time he painted many works, including peaceful seascapes and battle scenes.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Moonlit Night on Capri"

After a short stay in St. Petersburg in 1840, Aivazovsky left for Venice, and from there to Florence and Rome. During this journey, Ivan Konstantinovich met with his older brother Gabriel, a monk on the island of St. Lazarus, and became acquainted with. In Italy, the artist studied the works of great masters and wrote a lot himself. He exhibited his paintings everywhere, and many were sold out immediately.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Chaos"

The Pope himself wanted to buy his masterpiece “Chaos”. Hearing about this, Ivan Konstantinovich personally presented the painting to the pontiff. Touched by Gregory XVI, he presented the painter with a gold medal, and the fame of the talented marine painter thundered throughout Europe. Then the artist visited Switzerland, Holland, England, Portugal and Spain. On the way home, the ship on which Aivazovsky was sailing was caught in a storm, and a terrible storm broke out. For some time there were rumors that the marine painter had died, but, fortunately, he managed to return home safe and sound.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky "Storm"

Aivazovsky fell lucky fate make acquaintances and even friendships with many outstanding people of that era. The artist was closely acquainted with Nikolai Raevsky, Kiprensky, Bryullov, Zhukovsky, not to mention his friendship with the imperial family. And yet connections, wealth, fame did not seduce the artist. The main things in his life were always family, ordinary people, and his favorite job.

Painting by Ivan Aivazovsky " Chesme fight"

Having become rich and famous, Aivazovsky did a lot for his native Feodosia: he founded an art school and an art gallery, a museum of antiquities, and sponsored the construction railway, the city water supply, fed from his personal source. At the end of his life, Ivan Konstantinovich remained as active and active as in his youth: he visited America with his wife, worked a lot, helped people, was engaged in charity, improvement of his native city and teaching.

Personal life

The personal life of the great painter is full of ups and downs. There were three loves, three women in his destiny. Aivazovsky’s first love is a dancer from Venice, world celebrity Maria Taglioni was 13 years older than him. The artist in love went to Venice to follow his muse, but the relationship was short-lived: the dancer chose ballet over the young man’s love.

In 1848, Ivan Konstantinovich great love married Julia Grevs, daughter of an Englishman who was the court physician of Nicholas I. The young couple went to Feodosia, where they played magnificent wedding. In this marriage, Aivazovsky had four daughters: Alexandra, Maria, Elena and Zhanna.

In the photo the family looks happy, but the idyll was short-lived. After the birth of her daughters, the wife changed in character, suffering nervous disease. Julia wanted to live in the capital, attend balls, give parties, lead a social life, and the artist’s heart belonged to Feodosia and ordinary people. As a result, the marriage ended in divorce, which did not happen often at that time. With difficulty, the artist managed to maintain relationships with his daughters and their families: his grumpy wife turned the girls against their father.

Last love the artist met already at an advanced age: in 1881 he was 65 years old, and his chosen one was only 25 years old. Anna Nikitichna Sarkizova became Aivazovsky's wife in 1882 and was with him until the very end. Her beauty was immortalized by her husband in the painting “Portrait of the Artist’s Wife.”

Death

The great marine painter, who became a world celebrity at the age of 20, died at home in Feodosia at the age of 82, in 1900. The unfinished painting “Ship Explosion” remained on the easel.

Best paintings

• "The Ninth Wave";
• "Shipwreck";
• "Night in Venice";
• "Brig Mercury attacked by two Turkish ships";
• “Moonlit night in Crimea. Gurzuf";
• "Moonlit Night on Capri";
• "Moonlit Night on the Bosphorus";
• "Walking on the Waters";
• "Chesme fight";
• "Moonwalk"
• "Bosphorus on a Moonlit Night";
• "A.S. Pushkin on the Black Sea coast";
• "Rainbow";
• "Sunrise in the Harbor";
• "Ship in the middle of a storm";
• "Chaos. Creation of the World;
• "Calm";
• "Venice Night";
• "World Flood".

Black Sea - Aivazovsky. 1881. Oil on canvas. 149x208 cm

Not every artist is given the skill of reproducing natural elements - air, fire, water. Ivan Konstantinovich was immeasurably endowed with the ability to depict the sea - perhaps none of his contemporaries could handle large-scale paintings on a marine theme better than him.

At first glance, the canvas impresses with its spectacular depiction of the violence of the elements. Looking at it, the reason why the Black Sea got its name immediately becomes clear. Peaceful and gentle, blue-green and calm in good weather, in a storm this sea turns into a roaring wild beast.

In its abyss, many ships found their end during the long era of shipping in this area of ​​the world. A hint of this is the tiny image of a ship on the horizon, barely visible behind the stormy waves of water. It is not clear to us whether the ship is in distress, or whether it is coping with the fierce elements, since it is very far from us, almost on the border of heaven and earth. But, knowing the harsh and unpredictable nature of the Black Sea, one can only sympathize with the sailors caught in a storm on it.

The famous painting shows the moment when the storm is just beginning. There is still a long way to go before the rising waves reach their critical height, but the water is already filled with a deep leaden tint, and the crests of the waves show the beginning of a storm. Even a person just looking at the canvas begins to literally physically feel this rolling, because the pattern of the waves is conveyed with skill bordering on magic.

The color scheme of the painting is dark, muted, quite saturated and rich, but without a single bright or “open” shade. The entire composition is built on halftones, which should make the waves shimmer with the living colors of water in a storm. The sky is painted like steel waves. It is completely covered with heavy, lead-filled clouds, threatening a prolonged downpour and a dangerous thunderstorm. Finding yourself in such weather in the middle of the open sea is deadly dangerous. And only in the distance, near the horizon, the artist painted a light stripe, above which white, safe clouds swirl. Perhaps it is there, beyond the horizon, covered with clouds, that the coveted saving land is located, where a small ship, lost in the terrible, formidable waters of the Black Sea, is striving with all its might.

The overall impression of the canvas is the incredible, crushing power of the elements, which has so far lurked and has not played out in full force. But soon, soon a storm will break out...

Ivan Aivazovsky. Aul Gunib in Dagestan.
View from the east.
1867. Oil on canvas.

In 1868, Aivazovsky undertook a trip to the Caucasus. He painted the foothills of the Caucasus with a pearl chain of snowy mountains on the horizon, panoramas of mountain ranges stretching into the distance like petrified waves, the Daryal Gorge and the village of Gunib, lost among the rocky mountains - Shamil’s last nest. In Armenia he painted Lake Sevan and the Ararat Valley. He created several beautiful paintings, depicting Caucasus Mountains from the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

Ivan Aivazovsky and Ilya Repin. Pushkin by the sea
(Pushkin's farewell to the Black Sea).
1887. Oil on canvas.
Central Pushkin Museum. Pushkin, Russia.

From a series of great masters of the brush, a master emerged who completely devoted his talent to the “free element,” as Pushkin dubbed the sea, and became its devoted singer. This master was Ivan Aivazovsky.

At one of the academic exhibitions in St. Petersburg (1836), two artists met - an artist of the pen and an artist of the brush. Meeting Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin made an indelible impression on the young Aivazovsky. “Since then, my already beloved poet has become the subject of my thoughts, inspiration and long conversations and stories about him,” the artist recalled. Pushkin spoke with great approval of the works of the talented student at the Academy of Arts. 

Aivazovsky admired the talent of the greatest Russian poet all his life, dedicating an entire cycle of paintings to him later (around 1880). In them he combined the poetry of the sea with the image of a poet.

The painting Farewell to the Black Sea by A.S. Pushkin was created in the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of A.S. Pushkin. Aivazovsky worked on this painting in collaboration with Ilya Efimovich Repin. Repin painted the figure of Pushkin in this picture, Aivazovsky painted a landscape background. This is one of best paintings on a Pushkin theme.

In the same year, another picture of Pushkin was painted on the shores of the Black Sea. Later, in 1899, Aivazovsky painted a picture of Pushkin in the Crimea near the Gurzuf rocks.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Pushkin on the Black Sea coast.
1887. Oil on canvas.
Nikolaev Art Museum
them. V. Vereshchagina, Russia.

At one of the academic exhibitions in St. Petersburg (1836), two artists met - an artist of the pen and an artist of the brush. Meeting Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin made an indelible impression on the young Aivazovsky. “Since then, my already beloved poet has become the subject of my thoughts, inspiration and long conversations and stories about him,” the artist recalled. Pushkin spoke with great approval of the works of the talented student at the Academy of Arts.

Aivazovsky admired the talent of the greatest Russian poet all his life, dedicating an entire cycle of paintings to him later (around 1880). In them he combined the poetry of the sea with the image of a poet. The painting Pushkin on the Black Sea coast was created in the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of A.S. Pushkin. In the same year, another was painted - one of the best paintings on a Pushkin theme - A.S. Pushkin’s Farewell to the Black Sea, on which I.K. Aivazovsky worked in collaboration with I.E. Repin. (Repin painted the figure of Pushkin in this picture, Aivazovsky painted a landscape background).

Later, in 1899, Aivazovsky painted a picture of Pushkin in the Crimea near the Gurzuf rocks.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Pushkin in Crimea near the Gurzuf rocks.
1899. Oil on canvas.
Odessa Art Museum, Odessa, Ukraine.

Aivazovsky had his own established system of creative work. “A painter who only copies nature,” he said, “becomes her slave... The movements of living elements are elusive to the brush: painting lightning, a gust of wind, a splash of a wave is unthinkable from life... The artist must remember them... The plot of the paintings is formed in my memory, like with the poet; having made a sketch on a piece of paper, I begin to work and do not leave the canvas until I express myself on it with a brush...”

The comparison of the working methods of the artist and the poet here is not accidental. The formation of Aivazovsky’s work was greatly influenced by the poetry of A.S. Pushkin, so Pushkin’s stanzas often appear in our memory before Aivazovsky’s paintings. Aivazovsky's creative imagination was not constrained by anything during his work. When creating his works, he relied only on his truly extraordinary visual memory and poetic imagination.

Aivazovsky admired the talent of the greatest Russian poet all his life, dedicating an entire cycle of paintings to him later (around 1880). The painting of Pushkin in the Crimea near the Gurzuf rocks was painted in 1899, and before that, in 1887, in the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of A.S. Pushkin, two wonderful paintings of Pushkin on the Black Sea coast and Farewell of A.S. Pushkin were created with the Black Sea.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Rainbow.
1873. Oil on canvas.

In 1873 Aivazovsky created outstanding picture Rainbow. The plot of this picture - a storm at sea and a ship dying off a rocky shore - is nothing unusual for Aivazovsky’s work. But its colorful range and painterly execution were a completely new phenomenon in Russian painting of the seventies. Depicting this storm, Aivazovsky showed it as if he himself was among the raging waves. A hurricane wind blows water dust off their crests. As if through a rushing whirlwind, the silhouette of a sinking ship and the vague outlines of a rocky shore are barely visible.

The clouds in the sky dissolved into a transparent, damp veil. A stream of sunlight broke through this chaos, lay like a rainbow on the water, giving the painting a multicolored coloring. The whole picture is painted in the finest shades of blue, green, pink and purple colors. The same tones, slightly enhanced in color, convey the rainbow itself. It flickers with a subtle mirage. From this, the rainbow acquired that transparency, softness and purity of color that always delights and enchants us in nature. The painting "Rainbow" was a new, higher level in Aivazovsky's work.

Regarding one of these paintings by Aivazovsky F.M. Dostoevsky wrote: “The storm... of Mr. Aivazovsky... is amazingly good, like all his storms, and here he is a master - without rivals... In his storm there is rapture, there is that eternal beauty that amazes the viewer in a living, real storm...”

Ivan Aivazovsky. Fishermen on the seashore.
1852. Oil on canvas.

“The sea is my life,” said the artist. He had the ability to convey the movement and breath of the sea.

Aivazovsky loved the sea since childhood and managed to create a truthful and poetic image of the boundless elements, to the romantic perception of which he always remained faithful.

The master was distinguished by his unusual pictorial thinking. On the canvas, the artist creates bright combinations that amaze with their magnificent decorative sound. You perceive such works as a symphony of colors, as a song to beauty. “If I lived another three hundred years,” said the artist, “I would always find something new in the sea.”

Often in Aivazovsky’s paintings you can see people admiring the majestic beauty of nature. The artist sees in man an integral part of the universe. His "fictional" romantic heroes self-portraits in their own way.

The artist discovered his method of depiction from memory, even without sketches, limiting himself to only cursory pencil sketches. Justifying this method, the artist said: “The movements of living elements are elusive to the brush: painting lightning, a gust of wind, a splash of a wave is unthinkable from life.”

As a child, he played on the shore of his native Feodosia, and from childhood the emerald play of the Black Sea surf sank into his soul. Subsequently, no matter how many seas he painted, he always ended up with clear green water with lilac laces of foam, characteristic of his native Euxinian Pontus. The most vivid impressions were connected with the sea; This is probably why he devoted all his work to depicting the sea. With equal power he could convey the brilliance of the sun's rays sparkling on the water, the transparency sea ​​depth and the snow-white foam of the waves. 

Aivazovsky's works stood out among the works of contemporary painters for their coloristic qualities. In the 1840s, during an exhibition in Berlin, a reviewer of a local newspaper explained the increased sound of color in the works of the Russian artist by the fact that he was deaf and mute and this deficiency was compensated by heightened vision.

Strict critic I.N. Kramskoy wrote to P. M. Tretyakov: “Aivazovsky probably has the secret of composing paints, and even the paints themselves are secret; I have never seen such bright and pure tones even on the shelves of mosquito stores.”

Aivazovsky was influenced by the Dutch marine painters of the 17th century and came to the “watercolor” painting technique, when color is applied to the canvas in thin overlapping layers. This made it possible to convey the slightest color tonal gradations.

Aivazovsky began to paint a picture, depicting the sky, or as he called it, following his teacher at the Academy of Arts M. N. Vorobyov - air. No matter the size of the canvas, Aivazovsky painted “air” in one session, even if it lasted up to 12 hours in a row. It was with such a titanic effort that the conveyance of the airiness and integrity of the color scheme of the sky was achieved. The desire to complete the picture as quickly as possible was dictated by the desire not to lose the unity of the mood of the motive, to convey to the viewer a frozen moment in the life of a moving sea element. The water in his paintings is a boundless ocean, not stormy, but swaying, harsh, endless. And the sky, if possible, is even more endless.

“The plot of the picture,” said the artist, “is formed in my memory, like the plot of a poem by a poet; having made a sketch on a piece of paper, I begin to work and do not leave the canvas until I express my thoughts on it with my brush.”

Speaking about his paintings, Aivazovsky noted: “Those paintings in which main strength- the light of the sun, ... must be considered the best."

Azure Sea:
1843.

Oil on canvas.

Fishermen on the seashore.

1852. Oil on canvas.

National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia.

Calm sea

1863. Oil on canvas.

National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Sinop battle. The night after the battle.
1853. Oil on canvas.
Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

A special place in Aivazovsky’s legacy is occupied by works dedicated to the exploits of the Russian fleet, which formed his unique historical chronicle, starting from the battles of the time of Peter I and ending with the contemporary events of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 and the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 for the liberation of the Balkans. Since 1844, Aivazovsky was a painter of the Main Naval Staff.

On November 18, 1853, during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, a naval battle took place between the Russian and Turkish squadrons in Sinop Bay. The Turkish squadron of Osman Pasha left Constantinople for a landing operation in the Sukhum-Kale area and made a stop in Sinop Bay. The Russian Black Sea Fleet had the task of preventing active enemy actions. The squadron under the command of Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov (3 battleships) during cruising duty discovered the Turkish squadron and blocked it in the bay. Help was requested from Sevastopol. By the time of the battle, the Russian squadron included 6 battleships and 2 frigates, and the Turkish squadron included 7 frigates, 3 corvettes, 2 steam frigates, 2 brigs, 2 transports. The Russians had 720 guns, and the Turks - 510. As a result of the battle, which lasted 4 hours, the entire Turkish fleet (with the exception of the Taif steamship) was destroyed. The Turks lost over 3 thousand people killed and drowned, about 200 people. were captured (including the fleet commander). The Russians lost 37 people. killed and 235 wounded. With the victory in Sinop Bay, the Russian fleet gained complete dominance in the Black Sea and thwarted plans for a Turkish landing in the Caucasus.

As soon as word of the Battle of Sinop reached Aivazovsky, he immediately went to Sevastopol and asked the participants in the battle about all the circumstances of the case. Soon, two paintings by Aivazovsky were exhibited in Sevastopol, depicting the Battle of Sinop at night and during the day. These were the paintings The Naval Battle of Sinop on November 18, 1853 and the Battle of Sinop. The night after the battle.

The exhibition was visited by Admiral Nakhimov; highly appreciating Aivazovsky’s work, especially the painting The Battle of Sinop. The night after the battle. He said: “The picture is extremely well done.”

Having visited besieged Sevastopol, Aivazovsky also painted a number of paintings dedicated to the heroic defense of the city.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Calm sea.
1863. Oil on canvas.
National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia.

The sea was his element. Only to him was the soul of the artist opened. Each time he stood at the easel, Aivazovsky gave free rein to his imagination. And the canvas embodied exactly what he saw in advance with his inner gaze.

Thus, Aivazovsky entered contemporary art, guided by his own laws of artistic perception of the world. The artistic thinking of the master is decorative; this is due to his childhood, his blood, his origin. Decorativeness does not at all interfere with, but contributes to Aivazovsky in his precise emotional characteristics of the depicted. The perfection of the result is achieved by the virtuosity of the most extraordinary tonal nuances. Here he has no equal, which is why he was compared to Paganini. Aivazovsky is a maestro of tone. The canons he learned European school superimposed on his natural, purely national decorative flair. This unity of two principles allows the artist to achieve such a convincing saturation of the light-air atmosphere and melodious color harmony. Perhaps it is precisely in the uniqueness of such a merger that the magical appeal of his paintings lies.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Among the waves.
1898. Oil on canvas.
Aivazovsky Art Gallery, Feodosia, Ukraine.

The master’s long and glorious life passed in continuous communication with the sea - a symbol of freedom and space. And the sea, sometimes calm, sometimes rough or stormy, generously gave him an inexhaustible wealth of impressions. Aivazovsky painted the painting Among the Waves, which was the pinnacle of his work, when he turned 80 years old.

“Gray furious waves rush over the abyss. They are immense, rushing upward in anger, but black, leaden clouds, driven by a stormy wind, hang over the abyss, and here, as in an ominous hellish cauldron, the elements reign. The sea bubbles, seethes, foams. The crests of the shafts sparkle. Not a single living soul, not even a free bird, dares to witness the raging storm... Deserted...

Only a great artist could see and remember this truly planetary moment, when you believe in the primordial existence of our Earth. And through the roar and roar of the storm, a ray of sun breaks through with a quiet melody of joy, and somewhere in the distance a narrow strip of light glimmers” (I.V. Dolgopolov).

The artist depicted a raging element - a stormy sky and a stormy sea, covered with waves, as if boiling in a collision with one another. He abandoned the usual details in his paintings in the form of fragments of masts and dying ships, lost in the vast expanse of the sea. He knew many ways to dramatize the subjects of his paintings, but did not resort to any of them while working on this work. Among the waves, the content of the painting of the Black Sea seems to continue to reveal itself in time: if in one case the agitated sea is depicted, in the other it is already raging, at the moment of the highest formidable state of the sea element. The mastery of the painting Among the Waves is the fruit of the artist’s long and hard work throughout his life. His work on it proceeded quickly and easily. Obedient to the artist’s hand, the brush sculpted exactly the shape that the artist wanted, and put paint on the canvas as his experience of skill and instinct told him to do. great artist, who did not correct the stroke once laid.

Apparently, Aivazovsky himself was aware that the painting Among the Waves was significantly higher in terms of execution than all previous works recent years. Despite the fact that after its creation he worked for another two years, organizing exhibitions of his works in Moscow, London and St. Petersburg, he did not take this painting out of Feodosia; he bequeathed it, along with other works that were in his art gallery, to his hometown of Feodosia.

Until his old age, until the last days of his life, Aivazovsky was full of new ideas that excited him as if he were not an eighty-year-old highly experienced master who painted six thousand paintings, but a young, beginning artist who had just embarked on the path of art. The artist’s lively, active nature and preserved undullness of feelings are characterized by his answer to the question of one of his friends: which of all the painted paintings does the master himself consider to be the best? “The one,” Aivazovsky answered without hesitation, “that stands on the easel in the studio, which I began to paint today...”

In his correspondence of recent years there are lines that speak of the deep excitement that accompanied his work. At the end of one big business letter in 1894 there are these words: “Forgive me for writing on pieces (of paper). I’m painting a big picture and I’m terribly preoccupied.” In another letter (1899): “I have written a lot this year. 82 years make me hurry...” He was at that age when he was clearly aware that his time was running out, but he continued to work with ever-increasing energy.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Sinking ship.
1854. Papier pellet, graphite pencil, colored pencil, scratching.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Speaking about the work of Aivazovsky, one cannot help but dwell on the great graphic heritage left by the master.

One of the best graphic works The artist's painting is a sinking ship.

During his long life, Aivazovsky made a number of trips: he visited Italy, Paris and other European cities several times, worked in the Caucasus, sailed to the shores of Asia Minor, was in Egypt, and at the end of his life, in 1898, made a long journey to America . During his sea voyages, he enriched his observations, and drawings accumulated in his folders.

Aivazovsky always painted a lot and willingly. His drawings are of wide interest both for their artistic execution and for understanding the artist’s creative method. Among pencil drawings stand out for their mature mastery of work dating back to the forties, to the time of his academic trip of 1840-1844 and sailing off the coast of Asia Minor and the Archipelago in the summer of 1845.

In the 1840s, Aivazovsky worked a lot in the south of Russia, mainly in the Crimea. There he created a graphic series of marine species using the sepia technique. The artist made a light sketch of the landscape with a graphite pencil and then wrote in sepia, the brownish color of which varied subtly from saturated to light, completely transparent. To convey the shine of the water surface or sea foam, the artist often used whitewash or scratched the top layer of specially primed paper, which created an additional lighting effect. One of these works, View of the City of Nikolaev, is in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

The drawings of this pore are harmonious in the compositional distribution of masses and are distinguished by strict elaboration of details. Large sheet sizes and graphic completeness indicate great importance, which Aivazovsky gave to drawings made from life. These were mainly images of coastal cities. Using sharp, hard graphite, Aivazovsky painted city buildings clinging to mountain ledges, receding into the distance, or individual buildings he liked, composing them into landscapes. Using the simplest graphic means - line, almost without using chiaroscuro, he achieved the subtlest effects and accurate rendering of volume and space. The drawings he made during his travels always helped him in his creative work. In his youth, he often used drawings for the composition of paintings without any changes. Later, he freely reworked them, and often they served him only as the first impetus for the implementation of creative ideas. The second half of Aivazovsky’s life refers to large number drawings made in a free, broad manner. In the last period of his creativity, when Aivazovsky made quick travel sketches, he began to draw freely, reproducing with a line all the curves of the form, often barely touching soft pencil paper His drawings, having lost their former graphic rigor and clarity, acquired new pictorial qualities.

As it crystallized creative method Aivazovsky and accumulated enormous creative experience and skill, a noticeable shift occurred in the process of the artist’s work, which affected his preparatory drawings. Now he creates a sketch of a future work from his imagination, and not from a natural drawing, as he did in the early period of his creativity. Of course, Aivazovsky was not always immediately satisfied with the solution found in the sketch. There are three versions of the sketch for his last painting, “The Explosion of the Ship.” He strove for the best solution to the composition even in the drawing format: two drawings were made in a horizontal rectangle and one in a vertical one. All three are executed with a quick stroke that conveys the scheme of the composition. Such drawings seem to illustrate the words of Aivazovsky relating to the method of his work: “Having sketched with a pencil on a piece of paper the plan of the picture I have conceived, I get to work and, so to speak, devote myself to it with all my soul.” Aivazovsky's graphics enrich and expand our usual understanding of his work and his unique method of work. For graphic works, Aivazovsky used a variety of materials and techniques.

A number of finely painted watercolors done in one color - sepia - date back to the sixties. Using usually a light fill of the sky with highly diluted paint, barely outlining the clouds, barely touching the water, Aivazovsky laid out the foreground in a broad, dark tone, painted the mountains in the background and painted a boat or ship on the water in a deep sepia tone. With such simple means he sometimes conveyed all the charm of bright sunny day at sea, the rolling of a transparent wave onto the shore, the glow of light clouds over the deep sea. In terms of the height of skill and subtlety of the conveyed state of nature, such sepia by Aivazovsky go far beyond the usual idea of ​​​​watercolor sketches.

In 1860, Aivazovsky wrote a similar kind of beautiful sepia “The Sea after the Storm.” Aivazovsky was apparently satisfied with this watercolor, since he sent it as a gift to P.M. Tretyakov. Aivazovsky widely used coated paper, drawing on which he achieved virtuoso skill. Such drawings include "The Tempest", created in 1855. The drawing was made on paper tinted in the upper part with a warm pink color and in the lower part with a steel-gray color. Using various techniques of scratching the tinted chalk layer, Aivazovsky conveyed well the foam on the wave crests and the reflections on the water. Aivazovsky also drew masterfully with pen and ink.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Chaos. Creation of the world.
1841. Oil on paper.
Museum of the Armenian Mekhitarist Congregation.
Island of St. Lazarus, Venice.

Having completed the course with a first-class gold medal, Aivazovsky received the right to travel abroad as an academy pensioner. And in 1840 he left for Italy.

The artist worked in Italy with great enthusiasm and created about fifty large paintings here. Exhibited in Naples and Rome, they caused a real stir and glorified the young painter. Critics wrote that no one had ever depicted light, air and water so vividly and authentically.

Picture Chaos. Creation of the world. Aivazovsky was honored to be included in the permanent exhibition of the Vatican Museum. Pope Gregory XVI awarded the artist a gold medal. On this occasion, Gogol jokingly told the artist: “Your “Chaos” created chaos in the Vatican.”

The Battle of Chesma is one of the most glorious and heroic pages in the history of the Russian fleet. Aivazovsky was not, and could not have been, a witness to the event that took place on the night of June 26, 1770. But how convincingly and reliably he reproduced the picture of a naval battle on his canvas. Ships explode and burn, fragments of masts fly up to the sky, flames rise, and scarlet-gray smoke mixes with the clouds through which the moon looks at what is happening. Its cold and calm light only emphasizes the hellish mixture of fire and water on the sea. It seems that the artist himself, when creating the picture, experienced the rapture of the battle, where the Russian sailors won a brilliant victory.

1848. Oil on canvas.
Aivazovsky Art Gallery, Feodosia, Ukraine.

Therefore, despite the ferocity of the battle, the picture leaves a major impression and resembles a grandiose fireworks display. The plot for this work was an episode of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. For decades, Russia waged wars with Turkey for possession of the Black and Mediterranean seas. Two Russian squadrons that left Kronstadt, after a long journey across the Baltic, passed the English Channel, rounded the shores of France and Portugal, passed Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Here they met the Turkish fleet, which was then considered the strongest in the world. After several military skirmishes, the Turkish raft took refuge in Chesme Bay in panic. Russian ships blocked the exit from the bay and during the night battle almost completely burned and destroyed the Turkish fleet. On the Russian side, 11 sailors died, on the Turkish side - 10,000 people. 

This was a victory unprecedented in the history of naval battles. A medal was knocked out in memory of her, Count Alexei Orlov, who commanded the squadrons, received the title of Chesme, and in Tsarskoe Selo Catherine II ordered the erection of a monument to this battle - the Chesme Column. It still stands proudly in the middle of the Big Pond. Its marble trunk is completed by an allegorical sculpture - a double-headed eagle breaking a marble crescent.

A painter of the Main Naval Staff (since 1844), Aivazovsky took part in a number of military campaigns (including the Crimean War of 1853-1856), creating many pathetic battle paintings.

Aivazovsky's painting of the forties and fifties is marked by the strong influence of the romantic traditions of K.P. Bryullov, which affected not only the painting skill, but also the very understanding of art and Aivazovsky’s worldview. Like Bryullov, he strives to create grandiose colorful canvases that can glorify Russian art. Aivazovsky has in common with Bryullov his brilliant painting skills, virtuosic technique, speed and courage of execution. This was very clearly reflected in one of the early battle paintings, the Battle of Chesma, written by him in 1848, dedicated to an outstanding naval battle. In the same year, 1848, Aivazovsky painted the painting The Battle of the Chios Strait, which together with the Battle of Chesme formed a kind of diptych pair glorifying the victories of the Russian fleet.

After the Battle of Chesma took place in 1770, Orlov, in his report to the Admiralty Board, wrote: “...Honor to the All-Russian Fleet. From June 25 to 26, the enemy fleet (we) attacked, smashed, broke, burned, let into the sky, into ashes converted... and they themselves began to dominate the entire archipelago..." The pathos of this report, pride in the outstanding feat of the Russian sailors, the joy of the victory achieved was perfectly conveyed by Aivazovsky in his film. When we first look at the picture, we are overcome with a feeling of joyful excitement, as if from a festive spectacle - a brilliant fireworks display. And only with a detailed examination of the picture does the plot side of it become clear. The battle is depicted at night. In the depths of the bay, burning ships of the Turkish fleet are visible, one of them at the moment of the explosion. Covered in fire and smoke, the wreckage of the ship flies into the air, turning into a huge blazing fire. And on the side, on foreground, the flagship of the Russian fleet rises in a dark silhouette, to which, saluting, a boat with the crew of Lieutenant Ilyin, who blew up his fire-ship among the Turkish flotilla, approaches. And if we come closer to the picture, we will discern the wreckage of Turkish ships on the water with groups of sailors calling for help, and other details.

Aivazovsky was the last and most a prominent representative romantic trend in Russian painting, and these features of his art were especially evident when he painted sea battles full of heroic pathos; in them one could hear that “music of battle”, without which battle painting devoid of emotional impact.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Black Sea
(A storm begins to break out on the Black Sea.)
1881. Oil on canvas.
Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.

The artist worked tirelessly until the last days of his life. Aivazovsky retained his sublime, elevated emotional perception of nature until the end of his life. creative path. But in the 1870-1880s, external showiness and increased brightness of color gave way to calmer, softer color ratios. Storms and storms are replaced by the image of the sea in its usual state. The most successful landscapes of this time acquire psychological coloring and internal significance of the image.

Aivazovsky was close to many Itinerants. The humanistic content of his art and brilliant skill were highly appreciated by Kramskoy, Repin, Stasov and Tretyakov. In views on public importance Aivazovsky and the Peredvizhniki art had a lot in common. Long before organizing traveling exhibitions, Aivazovsky began organizing exhibitions of his paintings in St. Petersburg, Moscow, as well as in many other places. big cities Russia. In 1880, Aivazovsky opened Russia's first peripheral art gallery in Feodosia.

Under the influence of the advanced Russian art of the Peredvizhniki, realistic features emerged with particular force in Aivazovsky’s work, making his works even more expressive and meaningful. Apparently, this is why it has become common to consider Aivazovsky’s paintings of the seventies to be the highest achievement in his work. Now the process of continuous growth of his skill and deepening of the content of the pictorial images of his works, which took place throughout his life, is completely clear to us.

In 1881, Aivazovsky created one of his most significant works - the painting The Black Sea. Restrained tension and epic power excited the artist when creating such landscapes.

The painting shows the sea on a cloudy day; waves, appearing at the horizon, move towards the viewer, creating with their alternation a majestic rhythm and sublime structure of the picture. It is written in a spare, restrained color scheme, which enhances its emotional impact. The picture testifies that Aivazovsky knew how to see and feel the beauty of the sea element close to him, not only in external pictorial effects, but also in the subtle, strict rhythm of its breathing, in its clearly perceptible potential power. And, of course, in this picture he demonstrates his main gift: the ability to show the water element permeated with light, ever moving.

I. Kramskoy said about Aivazovsky’s painting “The Black Sea”: “This is a boundless ocean, not stormy, but swaying, harsh, endless. This is one of the most grandiose paintings I know.”

Wave and sky - two elements fill the entire space of the picture, somewhere far away there is a small silhouette of a ship. Barely outlined with a brush, it already introduces a human element into the landscape, sets the scale of the work and makes us, the spectators, accomplices of the image, empathizing not only with the elements of nature, but also with the person inside it. Moreover, the Black Sea itself is not calm. Aivazovsky called the picture “The Black Sea. A storm begins to break out on the Black Sea.” Behind these words, some viewers saw in the picture an emerging revolutionary element, while others saw emotional image, conveying emotional experiences, showing the inextricable connection between man and nature: the sea is agitated, the rhythm of its waves is so accurately captured by the artist that the viewer begins to feel the restlessness, the “breadth of breath” of nature.

Sea waves like gems, absorb many shades of green and blue, they can no longer be described in words. Transparent matter turns glassy before our eyes, it is forever frozen under the master’s brush. Foggy in the depths, glowing from within, it magically hides the underwater kingdom of mermaids and newts, mysterious pearls and bizarre plants.

“The Black Sea” is not the largest canvas in the artist’s work, but it is the result of his experiences, comprehension of his favorite image of the elements and the pinnacle of Aivazovsky’s mastery.

Artist Ivan Aivazovsky (Hovhannes Ayvazyan) - one of the greatest marine painters of all time, poet water element, who left a significant mark on history Russian painting. “The sea is my life,” he expressed himself, with the names of the sea spaces captivating the viewer with their realism. The artist is called an inimitable genius seascapes, the author of about 6,000 paintings, many of which went to charity.

The life of an inimitable marine painter

The artist was born on July 17, 1817 in the city of Feodosia in the family of an Armenian businessman, who soon went bankrupt. The urban beauty of the gently sloping banks predetermined its entire future. The boy's childhood was spent in poverty, but at a young age Ivan showed abilities in music and drawing. Initially, the future artist studied at an Armenian parish institution, then at the Simferopol gymnasium.

In 1833, Aivazovsky became a student, where he later studied in the landscape class of M. N. Vorobyov. A predetermining role for the artist was his visit to F. Tanner, who had special skills in depicting water. The artist noticed the young man’s talent and took him in, where he shared his techniques and skills.

The year 1837 became decisive in the At this time, the name of the inimitable marine painter - Aivazovsky - began to be heard often. Paintings with the titles “Moonlit Night in Gurzuf” (1839) and “Sea Shore” (1840) were recognized by teachers of the academies, for which the artist was awarded a medal.

Since 1840, he visited many countries where he worked actively, as a result of which he became popular. After Aivazovsky’s return, he was transferred to the main naval headquarters and was also awarded the title of academician of the Academy of Arts. Later he actively visited European countries, where I contemplated the vastness of the world and gained new impressions.

In 1847, the artist was accepted into the ranks of honorary members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Throughout his life, Aivazovsky opened an art school, an art gallery, and held more than 120 exhibitions.

The skill and creativity of the genius of the sea element

Aivazovsky’s work very clearly expresses the majesty and emotionality of sea battles. Perhaps this is due to the artist’s phenomenal powers of observation, because he never painted a picture from life, but only took notes and notes. “The movements of living jets are elusive to the brush,” said Aivazovsky. Paintings with the titles “Battle of Chesme” and “The Ninth Wave”, permeated with a cycle of action, emphasize the artist’s ability to observe and subsequently reproduce events.

Amazing speed of work completion

The artist’s extraordinary ability can be seen not only in his powers of observation, but also in his speed of execution. Do a lot of work for such a long time short time Only Ivan Aivazovsky could. The artist created the paintings with the titles “Black Sea Landscape” and “Storm” in just 2 hours, using a unique technique. Particularly impressive are the sea battles depicted on the canvas, the plot of which is perceived in one breath. Drama turns into expression warmth light, which emphasizes the unusual style. Looking at the master’s creations, you literally feel the swiftness and whirlpool of the waves. The conveyance of mood proceeds with a slight duality of silence and rage. The master’s significant success also lies in conveying the realism of what is happening, because only a genius can depict the emotional composition of the sea element in such a way.

The most popular creations of the artist

During the reforms of the sixties and seventies, the arts flourished. This time is considered to be the heyday of exactly when Aivazovsky was creating. Paintings with the titles “Storm at Night” (1864) and “Storm on the North Sea” (1865) are considered the most poetic. Let's consider two Aivazovskys. Photos with names are presented below.

"The Ninth Wave" (1850)

The artist devoted 11 days to this painting. Nicholas I originally purchased the work for the Hermitage. In 1897, the canvas was transferred to the State Russian Museum. The work “Clouds over the sea, calm” is also in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

"Clouds over the sea, calm" (1889)

Looking at the surface of the sea, the majesty of the clouds and the airspace, we can see how multifaceted the light spectrum is. Light in his works is nothing more than a symbol of life, hope and eternity. We see how unique the master’s creations are. This artist remains the most famous and beloved among viewers to this day.