Pictures of Russian marine painters. The most famous and famous paintings by Aivazovsky

Ivan Aivazovsky was born into the family of a bankrupt businessman, so his childhood was spent in poverty, but the boy's talent was noticed and he was helped. He took over something from a local architect, after which he studied at the Simferopol gymnasium, where he impressed influential people with his success in drawing, who helped him enter the Academy of Arts.

Ivan Konstantinovich did not immediately determine his own interests. A decisive role in his work was played by his arrival in St. french artist F. Tanner, who mastered the techniques of depicting water. In 1836, Tanner accepted the young man as his assistant and taught him the techniques he knew. Already in the autumn of the same year, Ivan Aivazovsky presented five seascapes. These paintings were rated very highly, they appeared in the newspapers. And in 1837, for two new works, he was given a large gold medal and was awarded the title of artist, these paintings were “The Big Raid in Kronstadt”, “Calm on the Gulf of Finland”. In the spring of 1838, Ivan Konstantinovich returned to Feodosia, where he set up a workshop for himself, in which he began to work, gaining experience in writing from nature.

From 1840 to 1844 Aivazovsky stayed in Italy as a foreign pensioner from the Academy of Arts, and also visited Germany, France, Spain, Holland. During these four years, the artist worked fruitfully and exhibited his works, which everywhere had big success. After returning from his wanderings, Aivazovsky received the title of academician of the Academy of Arts, and was also assigned to the Main Naval Staff. All this allowed Ivan Aivazovsky the following year to go with the expedition of the famous Russian navigator and geographer F.P. Litke to Turkey, Greece, Asia Minor and gain new impressions, which he subsequently used in his paintings. Aivazovsky also repeatedly visited the Caucasus, Egypt, Nice, Florence, and even America.

In 1846, Aivazovsky built himself a new spacious workshop in Feodosia, where he mainly worked. Now he worked more, relying on a rare visual memory and techniques that he learned a long time ago and has since perfected them, bringing them to automatism. The artist could paint a large picture in a couple of hours, which he did more than once, showing off his skill and talent to astonished spectators.

The legacy of Aivazovsky was a whole visual encyclopedia of the sea, which he captured in a variety of states. He left 6000 paintings, which are unequal. Among them there are formulaic, average quality, and excellent ones, such as the well-known "Ninth Wave" (1850) or "Black Sea" (1881). In addition, Aivazovsky wrote many historical battle paintings that tell about the victorious battles of the Russian fleet. The sea is what he wrote with skill and love. Trying to paint simple landscapes, Aivazovsky got more modest results, depicting a person, became helpless.

Aivazovsky said that the sea is his life. The artist believed that, having lived three hundred years, he would still see something new even after such a time in the sea. Not only Aivazovsky gave his life to the sea, but only he managed to give his whole self to this magical element. Love for the sea and talent made it possible to convey the beauty of the sea element. For all his life, Aivazovsky, just imagine, painted about six thousand paintings, most of which depicted the sea. This article will consider the most famous paintings by Aivazovsky, or rather ten of them, because it is impossible to describe all six thousand in one article.

Storm on the sea at night

Opens the Top 10 most famous paintings by Aivazovsky "Storm at sea at night". The picture has become an example of emotional painting, which vividly and in detail conveys the nature of the sea element, and shows its temperament. The picture can be called a living being, which was very raging in the vast expanses of the sea. The Storms on the Sea at Night palette impresses, first of all, with a combination of golden and dark shades. The night moon covers the waves of the sea, as if with “trembling gold”. The ship itself is presented as if it were a stranger, among the beauty of the sea.

Koktebel bay

"Sea. Koktebel”, “Sea. Koktebel Bay" or simply "Koktebel Bay"- one of the most beautiful paintings Aivazovsky, with the creation of which the best years of his childhood were associated. In the picture, the author depicts his homeland - Feodosia. Here he spent his childhood. Art connoisseurs say that it was when painting this picture that Ivan Aivazovsky achieved the true mastery of the “marine painter”. In the picture, the author successfully combined pink, orange and purple colors, which made it possible to betray the picture of the unique warmth coming from the Black Sea, which it radiates to this day.

Rainbow

No less famous painting by Aivazovsky is the canvas "Rainbow", which is currently stored in the Tretyakov Gallery. The painting depicts a storm and an attempt by people to escape from the power of the sea. Aivazovskaya takes the viewer to the very epicenter of a powerful hurricane that does not want to stop. But still, in last moment a rainbow appears - it becomes a hope for sailors trying desperately to survive.

sunset on the sea

One of the most famous paintings by marine painter Aivazovsky - "Sunset on the sea", now stored in the city of Kostroma - in the Kostroma Art Museum. The skill of the artist was appreciated by Tretyakov and Stasov. First of all, the picture attracted the living movement of nature, which the author was able to show by depicting the expanses of the sky and the sea. Attention is drawn to the endless variability of the forms of the sea surface. Somewhere the picture shows a calm calm, and somewhere - a raging element. The ship seems to be a stranger among the "wild" marine nature.

Naval battle of Navarino

Aivazovsky painted not only "peaceful marinas", but also liked to depict battle scenes key naval battles. One of these works was the famous painting by Aivazovsky - "Naval Battle of Navarino". The powerful Russian fleet, together with its allies, opposed the Turkish fleet in battle, which was eventually utterly defeated. The victory over the Turkish fleet accelerated the development of the national liberation war in Greece and amazed Aivazovsky. Hearing the exploits, the author embodied the battle on the canvas. The picture conveys all the cruelty of a naval battle: boarding, volleys of naval artillery, wreckage, drowning sailors and fire.

Sinking ship

Among the most famous paintings by Aivazovsky, "Sinking ship"- one of the most tragic works, because it shows the death of a sailing ship, which cannot contain the full power of the sea. The shipwreck is conveyed in such detail that it makes any viewer worry about the crew of the unfortunate ship. A small ship cannot resist such large and powerful waves. Aivazovsky when writing special attention paid attention to details. To see them, you should look at the picture for hours and only then you can feel all the pain of the ship and the sailors fighting death.

Gulf of Naples

During a trip to Italy, Aivazovsky painted one of his most famous paintings - "Gulf of Naples". Europe was so impressed by the skill of the Russian author that they called him one of the best artists in all of Europe. King Ferdinand Karl and Pope Gregory XVI personally expressed their desire to see the painting by the Russian author. After what they saw, they were amazed at the skill of Aivazovsky, and the Pope handed him a gold medal. During the painting, Aivazovsky finally decided as a marine painter who uses the methods of creating paintings from memory.

Brig "Mercury"

One of the most famous and at the same time the most battle paintings by Aivazovsky is the canvas Brig "Mercury" attacked by two Turkish ships". The picture shows the battle of "Mercury" against two Turkish battleships, which occurred in 1829 off the coast of the Bosphorus. Despite the advantage of the enemy in guns - ten times, the brig emerged victorious and inspired Aivazovsky to write a picture that immortalized the memory of Russian sailors. Now the picture is in storage in the Feodosia Aivazovsky Art Gallery.

View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus

"View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus." During his trip to the Ottoman Empire, Aivazovsky most of all liked the great city and its ports, the author did not ignore the Bosphorus itself.

Returning home, Aivazovsky painted a painting that in 2012 was valued at more than three million pounds sterling, or 155 million Russian rubles. The painting depicts in detail the port of Constantinople, a mosque, Turkish ships, the sun, which is about to get ready to disappear over the horizon, but most of all attracts the blue water surface and allows the canvas to be called one of the most famous paintings by Aivazovsky.

ninth wah

Without a doubt, the most famous painting by Aivazovsky was the canvas "The Ninth Wave". At the moment, the painting is stored in the Russian Museum. Art lovers say that it is in this picture that the romantic nature of the great artist is most accurately conveyed. The author shows what the sailors had to endure after the crash of their ship by the power of the sea. With bright colors, Aivazovsky depicted all the power and strength of not only the sea, but also the strength of people who managed to overcome it and survive.

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

In 1868 Aivazovsky undertook a journey 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 Darial Gorge and the village of Gunib, lost among the rocky mountains, the last nest of Shamil. In Armenia, he painted Lake Sevan and the Ararat Valley. He created several beautiful paintings depicting the 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 appeared who devoted his entire 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 - a pen artist and a brush artist. Acquaintance with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin made an indelible impression on the young Aivazovsky. “Since then, the poet I already loved 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 work of a talented student of the Academy of Arts. 

Aivazovsky worshiped the talent of the greatest Russian poet all his life, dedicating a whole cycle of paintings to him later (around 1880). In them, he combined the poetry of the sea with the image of the 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 picture in collaboration with Ilya Efimovich Repin. Repin painted the figure of Pushkin in this picture, Aivazovsky painted the landscape background. This is one of the best paintings on the Pushkin theme.

In the same year, another painting by Pushkin was painted on the Black Sea coast. 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.
Nikolaevsky Art Museum
them. V. Vereshchagin, Russia.

At one of the academic exhibitions in St. Petersburg (1836), two artists met - a pen artist and a brush artist. Acquaintance with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin made an indelible impression on the young Aivazovsky. “Since then, the poet I already loved 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 work of a talented student of the Academy of Arts.

Aivazovsky worshiped the talent of the greatest Russian poet all his life, dedicating a whole cycle of paintings to him later (around 1880). In them, he combined the poetry of the sea with the image of the poet. The painting Pushkin on the Black Sea was created in the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of A.S. Pushkin. In the same year, another was written - one of the best paintings on the 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 the landscape background).

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

Ivan Aivazovsky. Pushkin in the 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 the living elements are elusive for the brush: writing lightning, a gust of wind, a splash of a wave is unthinkable from nature ... An artist must memorize them ... The plot of the paintings is formed in my memory, as at the poet; having made a sketch on a piece of paper, I get to work and until then I do not leave the canvas until I express myself on it with a brush ... "

The comparison of the methods of work of the artist and the poet is not accidental here. The poetry of A.S. Pushkin had a great influence on the formation of Aivazovsky’s work, therefore Pushkin’s stanzas often appear in our memory before Aivazovsky’s paintings. creative imagination Aivazovsky in the process of work was not constrained by anything. Creating his works, he relied only on his truly extraordinary visual memory and poetic imagination.

Aivazovsky worshiped the talent of the greatest Russian poet all his life, dedicating a whole 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 pictures Pushkin on the Black Sea coast and ASPushkin's farewell to the Black Sea.

Ivan Aivazovsky. Rainbow.
1873. Oil on canvas.

In 1873, Aivazovsky created the outstanding painting Rainbow. In the plot of this picture - a storm at sea and a ship dying near a rocky shore - there is nothing unusual for Aivazovsky's work. But its colorful range, picturesque execution was 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 blows the mist off their crests. As if through a rushing whirlwind, the silhouette of a sinking ship and the indistinct outlines of a rocky shore are barely visible.

The clouds in the sky dissolved into a transparent wet shroud. Through this chaos, a stream of sunlight made its way, laying down like a rainbow on the water, giving the color of the picture a multi-colored coloring. The whole picture is written 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 barely perceptible mirage. From this, the rainbow acquired that transparency, softness and purity of color, which always delights and enchants us in nature. The painting "Rainbow" was a new, higher level in the work of Aivazovsky.

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 ... There is rapture in his storm, 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, the romantic perception of which he always remained true to.

The master was distinguished by 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," the artist said, "I would always find something new in the sea."

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

The artist discovered his method of drawing from memory, even without sketches, limiting himself to only cursory pencil sketches. Justifying this method, the artist said: "The movements of the living elements are elusive for the brush: writing lightning, a gust of wind, a splash of a wave is unthinkable from nature."

As a child, he played on the shores of his native Feodosia, and from childhood, the emerald game of the Black Sea surf sunk into his soul. Subsequently, no matter how much he painted any seas, he still got clear green water with purple laces of foam, characteristic of his native Euxine Pontus. The most vivid impressions were connected with the sea; probably that's why he devoted all his work to the image of the sea. With equal power, he could convey the brilliance of the sun's rays sparkling on the water, the transparency of the sea depth and the snow-white foam of the waves. 

The works of Aivazovsky 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 shortcoming 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 not seen such bright and pure tones even on the shelves of Muscat shops."

Aivazovsky was influenced by the Dutch marine painters of the 17th century, came to the "watercolor" technique of painting, when the color is superimposed on the canvas in thin overlapping layers. This made it possible to transmit the most insignificant color tonal gradations.

Aivazovsky began to paint a picture, depicting the sky, or as he called it after his teacher at the Academy of Arts M. N. Vorobyov - air. Whatever the size of the canvas, Aivazovsky wrote "air" in one session, even if it stretched up to 12 hours in a row. It was with such a titanic effort that the transmission 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 stopped moment from the life of a moving sea element. The water in his paintings is an endless ocean, not stormy, but swaying, harsh, endless. And the sky, if possible, even more infinite.

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

Speaking about his paintings, Aivazovsky remarked: "Those paintings in which the main force is the light of the sun ... must be considered the best."

Azure sea:
1843.

Canvas, oil.

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 the legacy of Aivazovsky is occupied by works dedicated to the exploits of the Russian fleet, which constituted his original historical record, starting from the battles of the time of Peter I and ending contemporary artist the 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.

November 18, 1853, during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, a naval battle took place between the Russian and Turkish squadrons in the Sinop Bay. The Turkish squadron of Osman Pasha left Constantinople for a landing operation in the Sukhum-Kale region and made a stop in the Sinop Bay. The Russian Black Sea Fleet had the task of preventing the active actions of the enemy. A 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 had 6 battleships and 2 frigates, and the Turkish squadron had 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 steamer) was destroyed. The Turks lost more than 3 thousand people killed and drowned, about 200 people. were captured (including the commander of the fleet). The Russians lost 37 people. killed and 235 wounded. With the victory in the Sinop Bay, the Russian fleet gained complete dominance in the Black Sea and thwarted the plans for the landing of the Turks in the Caucasus.

As soon as the rumor about the Battle of Sinop reached Aivazovsky, he immediately went to Sevastopol, asked the participants in the battle about all the circumstances of the case. Soon, two paintings by Aivazovsky were exhibited in Sevastopol, depicting the Sinop battle at night and during the day. These were the paintings of 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 the work of Aivazovsky, especially the picture of the Battle of Sinop. The night after the battle. He said: "The picture is extremely well done."

Having visited the 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 he was opened the soul of the artist. Each time standing at the easel, Aivazovsky gave free rein to his imagination. And the canvas embodied exactly what he saw in advance with his inner eye.

Thus, Aivazovsky entered contemporary art, guided by his own laws of artistic worldview. The artistic thinking of the master is decorative; it is due to his childhood, his blood, his lineage. Decorativeness does not interfere at all, 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 with Paganini. Aivazovsky - maestro of tone. The canons of the European school assimilated by him are superimposed on his natural, purely national decorative flair. This unity of the two principles allows the artist to achieve such a convincing saturation of the light-air atmosphere, and a 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, Feodosiya, Ukraine.

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

“Above the abyss, gray furious waves rush about. They are immense, they rush upward in anger, but black, lead clouds, driven by a storm wind, hang over the abyss, and here, as in an ominous hellish cauldron, the elements rule. The sea is bubbling, bubbling, foaming. Shaft crests sparkle. Not a single living soul, even a free bird, dares to see the rampant storm... Deserted...

Only great artist I 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 sunshine 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 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 boundless sea. He knew many ways to dramatize the plots of his paintings, but did not resort to any of them while working on this work. Among the waves, as it were, the Black Sea continues to reveal in time the content of the picture: if in one case an 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 a long and hard work of the artist's entire life. Work on it proceeded quickly and easily. Obedient to the hand of the artist, the brush sculpted exactly the shape that the artist wanted, and laid the paint on the canvas in the way that the experience of skill and the instinct of a great artist, who did not correct the brushstroke once put, prompted him.

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

Until 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, novice artist who had just embarked on the path of art. For the lively active nature of the artist and the preserved unblunted feelings, his answer to the question of one of his friends is characteristic: which of all the paintings painted by the master himself considers the best. “The one,” Aivazovsky answered without hesitation, “that stands on the easel in the workshop, 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 a large business letter in 1894, there are these words: "Forgive me for writing on pieces (of paper). I am painting a big picture and am terribly worried." In another letter (1899): "I have written a lot this year. 82 years make me hurry ..." He was at the 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, scratched.
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 of the artist is the picture of the 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 sea voyages, he enriched his observations, and drawings accumulated in his folders.

Aivazovsky always painted a lot and willingly. His drawings are of great interest both in terms of their artistic execution and for understanding the artist's creative method. Among pencil drawings, works dating back to the forties, by 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, stand out for their mature skill.

In the 1840s, Aivazovsky worked extensively in southern Russia, mainly in the Crimea. There he created a graphic series of sea views in sepia technique. The artist did light sketch landscape with graphite pencil and then wrote in sepia, the brownish color of which varied subtly from saturated to light, completely transparent. To convey the brilliance 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 light 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 terms of the compositional distribution of masses and are distinguished by a strict elaboration of details. Large sizes sheet and graphic completeness speak of great importance, which Aivazovsky attached to drawings made from nature. These were mostly images of coastal cities. With sharp hard graphite, Aivazovsky painted city buildings clinging to the ledges of mountains, receding into the distance, or individual buildings he liked, arranging them into landscapes. Using the simplest graphic means - a line, almost without using chiaroscuro, he achieved the finest effects and an accurate transfer of volume and space. The drawings he made during his travels always helped him in creative work. In his youth, he often used drawings to compose paintings without any changes. Later, he freely processed them, and often they served him only as the first impetus for the implementation of creative ideas. The second half of Aivazovsky's life includes a large number of drawings made in a free, broad manner. IN last period creativity, when Aivazovsky made cursory travel sketches, he began to draw freely, reproducing with a line all the curves of the form, often barely touching the paper with a soft pencil. His drawings, having lost their former graphic rigor and distinctness, acquired new pictorial qualities.

As it crystallized creative method Aivazovsky and accumulated vast creative experience and skill, in the process of the artist's work there was a noticeable shift that affected his preparatory drawings. Now he creates a sketch of the future work from his imagination, and not from a natural drawing, as he did in the early period of creativity. Not always, of course, Aivazovsky was immediately satisfied with the solution found in the sketch. There are three versions of the sketch for his latest painting "Explosion of the ship". He strove for the best composition solution even in the drawing format: two drawings were made in a horizontal rectangle and one in a vertical one. All three are made with a cursory stroke, conveying the scheme of the composition. Such drawings seem to illustrate the words of Aivazovsky related to the method of his work: "Having sketched a plan of the picture I conceived with a pencil on a piece of paper, I set to work and, so to speak, give myself to it with all my heart." Aivazovsky's graphics enrich and expand our familiar understanding of his work and his peculiar method of work. For graphic works, Aivazovsky used a variety of materials and techniques.

The sixties include a number of finely painted watercolors, made in one color - sepia. Using usually a light filling of the sky with highly diluted paint, barely outlining the clouds, slightly touching the water, Aivazovsky laid out the foreground widely, in a dark tone, painted the mountains of 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 a bright sunny day on the sea, the rolling of a transparent wave on the shore, the radiance of light clouds over the deep sea distance. In terms of the height of skill and subtlety of the transmitted state of nature, such sepia by Aivazovsky go far beyond the usual idea of ​​watercolor sketches.

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

Ivan Aivazovsky. Chaos. World creation.
1841. Oil on paper.
Museum of the Armenian Congregation of Mkhitarists.
Island of St. Lazarus, Venice.

After graduating with a gold medal of the first degree, Aivazovsky received the right to travel abroad as a pensioner of the academy. 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 portrayed light, air and water so vividly and authentically.

Painting Chaos. World creation. Aivazovsky was honored to enter the permanent exhibition Vatican Museum. Pope Gregory XVI awarded the artist a gold medal. On this occasion, Gogol jokingly said to the artist: "Your" Chaos "raised 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 be, a witness to the event that took place on the night of June 26, 1770. But how convincingly and authentically he reproduced on his canvas the picture of a naval battle. Ships explode and burn, fragments of masts fly up to the sky, flames rise, and scarlet-gray smokes mix with clouds through which the moon looks at what is happening. Its cold and calm light only emphasizes the hellish mixture of fire and water in the sea. It seems that the artist himself, when creating a picture, experienced the rapture of the battle, where the Russian sailors won a brilliant victory.

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

Therefore, despite the fierceness 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 has waged wars with Turkey for possession of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Two Russian squadrons that left Kronstadt, after a long transition across the Baltic, passed the English Channel, rounded the shores of France and Portugal, passed Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Here they met with the Turkish fleet, which was then considered the strongest in the world. After several military skirmishes, the Turkish raft took refuge in the Chesme Bay in a panic. Russian ships closed 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. 

It was an unprecedented victory in the history of naval battles. In memory of her, a medal was knocked out, Count Alexei Orlov, who commanded the squadrons, received the title of Chesmensky, and in Tsarskoye Selo Catherine II ordered that a monument to this battle be erected - 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 takes part in a number of military campaigns (including Crimean War 1853-1856), creating a lot of pathetic battle paintings.

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

After the Chesme battle took place in 1770, Orlov wrote in his report to the Admiralty College: "... Honor to the All-Russian fleet. From June 25 to June 26, the enemy fleet (we) attacked, defeated, broke, burned, let it go to heaven, into ashes turned ... and they themselves began to be dominant in the entire archipelago ... "The pathos of this report, pride in the outstanding feat of Russian sailors, the joy of the victory achieved was beautifully conveyed by Aivazovsky in his picture. At the first glance at the picture, we are seized by a feeling of joyful excitement as from a festive spectacle - a brilliant firework. And only with a detailed examination of the picture becomes clear the plot side of it. The fight is depicted at night. In the depths of the bay, burning ships of the Turkish fleet are visible, one of them at the time of the explosion. Enveloped in fire and smoke, the wreckage of the ship is flying into the air, which has turned into a huge blazing bonfire. And on the side, in the foreground, the flagship of the Russian fleet rises in a dark silhouette, to which, saluting, a boat approaches with the team of Lieutenant Ilyin, who blew up his firewall among the Turkish flotilla. And if we get closer to the picture, we will distinguish on the water the wreckage of Turkish ships with groups of sailors calling for help, and other details.

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

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

The artist worked tirelessly until the last days of his life. The sublime, elevated emotional perception of nature was preserved by Aivazovsky until the end of his creative way. But in the 1870s-1880s, external showiness, increased brightness of color give way to calmer, softer ratios of colors. 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 the inner significance of the image.

Aivazovsky was close to many Wanderers. The humanistic content of his art and brilliant craftsmanship were highly valued by Kramskoy, Repin, Stasov and Tretyakov. In terms of public importance art, Aivazovsky and the Wanderers had much in common. Long before organization traveling exhibitions Aivazovsky began to arrange exhibitions of his paintings in St. Petersburg, Moscow, as well as in many other big cities Russia. In 1880, Aivazovsky opened the first peripheral art gallery in Russia in Feodosia.

Under the influence of the advanced Russian art of the Wanderers, realistic features appeared with special force in the work of Aivazovsky, which made his works even more expressive and meaningful. Apparently, therefore, it has become customary to consider Aivazovsky's paintings of the seventies the highest achievement in his work. Now for us it is quite clear 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.

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

The painting depicts the sea on an overcast day; waves, arising at the horizon, move towards the viewer, creating by their alternation a majestic rhythm and sublime structure of the picture. It is written in a stingy, restrained color scheme that enhances its emotional impact. The picture testifies that Aivazovsky was able to see and feel the beauty of the sea element close to him, not only in external pictorial effects, but also in the barely perceptible strict rhythm of her breathing, in her clearly perceptible potential power. And, of course, in this picture he demonstrates his main gift: the ability to show the eternally moving water element permeated with light.

I. Kramskoy said about Aivazovsky's painting "The Black Sea": "This is an endless ocean, not stormy, but swaying, severe, endless. This is one of the most grandiose paintings that I know."

Wave and sky - two elements fill the entire space of the picture, somewhere far away is a small silhouette of a ship. Barely outlined with a brush, it already brings a human element to the landscape, sets the scale of the work and makes us, the viewers, 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 play out on the Black Sea." Behind these words, some viewers saw in the picture the emerging revolutionary element, while others saw an emotional image that conveys emotional experiences, showing the inextricable connection between man and nature: the sea is worried, the rhythm of its waves is so accurately captured by the artist that the viewer begins to feel anxiety, "the breadth of breathing "of nature.

Sea waves, like precious stones, absorb many shades of green and blue, they can no longer be called in words. Transparent matter turns glassy before our eyes, it has frozen forever under the brush of the master. Foggy in the depths, luminous from within, it hides the underwater realm of mermaids and tritons, mysterious pearls and bizarre plants with a magical fabric.

"The Black Sea" is not the largest canvas in the artist's work, but it is the result of experiences, understanding of the beloved image of the elements and the pinnacle of Aivazovsky's skill.

Ivan Aivazovsky is a genius. His paintings are true masterpieces. And not even from the technical side. A surprisingly truthful display of the subtle nature of the water element comes to the fore here. Naturally, there is a desire to understand the nature of Aivazovsky's genius.

Any particle of fate was a necessary and inseparable addition to his talent. In this article, we will try to open the doors to the wonderful world of one of the most famous marine painters in history, Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, at least a centimeter.

It goes without saying that world-class painting requires great talent. But marine painters have always stood apart. It is difficult to convey the aesthetics of the "big water". The difficulty here, first of all, is that it is on the canvases depicting the sea that falseness is most clearly felt.

Famous paintings by Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky

The most interesting for you!

Family and hometown

Ivan's father was a sociable, enterprising and capable person. For a long time he lived in Galicia, later moved to Wallachia (modern Moldova). Perhaps for some time he traveled with a gypsy camp, because Konstantin spoke gypsy. In addition to him, by the way, this most curious person spoke Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Turkish.

In the end, fate brought him to Feodosia, which recently received the status of a free port. The city, which until recently had 350 inhabitants, has turned into a busy shopping center with a population of several thousand people.

From all over the south of the Russian Empire, goods were delivered to the port of Feodosia, and goods from sunny Greece and bright Italy went back. Konstantin Grigorievich, not rich, but enterprising, successfully engaged in trade and married an Armenian woman named Hripsime. A year later, their son Gabriel was born. Konstantin and Hripsime were happy and even began to think about changing housing - a small house built upon arrival in the city became cramped.

But soon the Patriotic War of 1812 began, and after it the plague came to the city. At the same time, another son, Gregory, was born in the family. The affairs of Konstantin went down sharply, he went bankrupt. The need was so great that almost all valuable things had to be sold from the house. The father of the family took up litigious affairs. His beloved wife helped him a lot - Repsime was a skilled needlewoman and often embroidered all night long in order to later sell her products and support her family.

On July 17, 1817, Hovhannes was born, who became known to the whole world under the name of Ivan Aivazovsky (he changed his last name only in 1841, but we will call Ivan Konstantinovich that now, after all, he became famous as Aivazovsky). It cannot be said that his childhood was like a fairy tale. The family was poor and at the age of 10, Hovhannes went to work in a coffee shop. By that time, the older brother had gone to study in Venice, and the middle one was just getting an education at the district school.

Despite the work, the soul of the future artist really blossomed in the beautiful southern city. Not surprising! Theodosius, despite all the efforts of fate, did not want to lose her brightness. Armenians, Greeks, Turks, Tatars, Russians, Ukrainians - a hodgepodge of traditions, customs, languages ​​created a colorful backdrop for Feodosian life. But in the foreground was, of course, the sea. It is it that brings the very flavor that no one will be able to recreate artificially.

Vanya Aivazovsky's Incredible Luck

Ivan was a very capable child - he himself learned to play the violin and began to draw himself. His first easel was the wall of his father's house; instead of a canvas, he was content with plaster, and a brush replaced a piece of coal. The amazing boy was immediately noticed by a couple of prominent benefactors. First, the Theodosian architect Yakov Khristianovich Kokh drew attention to the drawings of unusual skill.

He also gave Vanya the first lessons in fine arts. Later, having heard Aivazovsky play the violin, the mayor Alexander Ivanovich Kaznacheev became interested in him. Happened funny story- when Koch decided to introduce little artist Kaznacheev, he was already familiar with him. Thanks to the patronage of Alexander Ivanovich, in 1830 Vanya entered Simferopol Lyceum.

The next three years were milestone in the life of Aivazovsky. While studying at the Lyceum, he was distinguished from others by an absolutely unimaginable talent for drawing. It was hard for the boy - the longing for his relatives and, of course, the sea affected. But he kept old acquaintances and made new, no less useful ones. First, Kaznacheev was transferred to Simferopol, and later Ivan became a member of the house of Natalya Fedorovna Naryshkina. The boy was allowed to use books and engravings, he constantly worked, looking for new subjects and techniques. Every day the skill of the genius grew.

The noble patrons of Aivazovsky's talent decided to apply for his admission to the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, sent the best drawings to the capital. After reviewing them, the President of the Academy, Alexei Nikolayevich Olenin, wrote to the Minister of the Court, Prince Volkonsky:

“The young Gaivazovsky, judging by his drawing, has an extraordinary disposition for composition, but how, while in the Crimea, he could not be prepared for drawing and painting there, so as not only to be sent to foreign lands and study there without guidance, but even so as to enter full-time academics Imperial Academy arts, because on the basis of § 2 of the addition to its regulations, those who enter must be at least 14 years old.

It is good to draw, at least from the originals, a human figure, to draw orders of architecture and to have preliminary information in the sciences, so as not to deprive this young man opportunity and ways to develop and improve his natural abilities for art, I considered the only means for this to be the highest permission to appoint him to the academy as a pensioner of his imperial majesty with production for its maintenance and other 600 rubles. from His Majesty's Cabinet so that it can be brought here at public expense.

The permission requested by Olenin was received when Volkonsky showed the drawings personally to Emperor Nicholas. July 22 Petersburg Academy of Arts accepted a new student. Childhood is over. But Aivazovsky went to St. Petersburg without fear - he truly felt that there were brilliant accomplishments of artistic genius ahead.

Big city - big opportunities

The Petersburg period of Aivazovsky's life is interesting for several reasons at once. Of course, training at the Academy played an important role. Ivan's talent was complemented by such necessary academic lessons. But in this article, I would like first of all to talk about the social circle of the young artist. Truly, Aivazovsky was always lucky with acquaintances.

Aivazovsky arrived in St. Petersburg in August. And although he had heard a lot about the terrible dampness and cold of St. Petersburg, none of this was felt in the summer. Ivan spent the whole day walking around the city. Apparently, the soul of the artist filled the longing for the familiar south great views cities on the Neva. Aivazovsky was especially struck by the construction of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the monument to Peter the Great. The massive bronze figure of the first emperor of Russia evoked genuine admiration from the artist. Still would! It was Peter who owed the existence of this wonderful city.

Amazing talent and acquaintance with Kaznacheev made Hovhannes a favorite of the public. Moreover, this audience was very influential and more than once helped the young talent. Vorobyov, Aivazovsky's first teacher at the Academy, immediately realized what talent he got. Undoubtedly, these creative people music also brought them together - Maxim Nikiforovich, like his student, also played the violin.

But over time, it became obvious that Aivazovsky outgrew Vorobyov. Then he was sent as a student to the French marine painter Philip Tanner. But Ivan did not get along with the foreigner in character and, due to an illness (either fictional or real), left him. Instead, he began working on a series of paintings for the exhibition. And it must be admitted, the canvases he created are impressive. It was then, in 1835, that he received a silver medal for his works “Etude of the air over the sea” and “View of the seaside in the vicinity of St. Petersburg”.

But alas, the capital was not only cultural center but also the epicenter of intrigue. Tanner complained to his superiors about the recalcitrant Aivazovsky, saying that why was his student working for himself during his illness? Nicholas I, a well-known adherent of discipline, personally ordered the removal of the young artist's paintings from the exhibition. It was a very painful blow.

Aivazovsky was not allowed to mope - the entire public vehemently opposed the baseless disgrace. Olenin, Zhukovsky, and the court painter Sauerweid petitioned for Ivan's forgiveness. Krylov himself personally came to comfort Hovhannes: “What. brother, does the Frenchman offend? Eh, what is he ... Well, God bless him! Do not be sad!..". In the end, justice prevailed - the emperor forgave the young artist and ordered to issue an award.

Largely thanks to Sauerweid, Ivan was able to pass summer practice on the ships of the Baltic Fleet. Created only a hundred years ago, the fleet was already a formidable force Russian state. And, of course, for a novice marine painter it was impossible to find a more necessary, useful and enjoyable practice.

To write ships without the slightest idea about their device is a crime! Ivan did not hesitate to communicate with the sailors, to carry out minor assignments for officers. And in the evenings he played his favorite violin for the team - in the middle of the cold Baltic one could hear the enchanting sound of the Black Sea south.

Charming artist

All this time, Aivazovsky did not stop correspondence with his old benefactor Kaznacheev. It was thanks to him that Ivan became a member of the houses of Alexei Romanovich Tomilov and Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, the grandson of the famous commander. At the Tomilovs' dacha, Ivan even spent his summer holidays. It was then that Aivazovsky got acquainted with Russian nature, unusual for a southerner. But the artist's heart perceives beauty in any form. Every day spent by Aivazovsky in St. Petersburg or its environs added something new to the attitude of the future maestro of painting.

The color of the then intelligentsia gathered in the Tomilovs' house - Mikhail Glinka, Orest Kiprensky, Nestor Kukolnik, Vasily Zhukovsky. Evenings in such a company were extremely interesting for the artist. Aivazovsky's senior comrades accepted him into their circle without any problems. The democratic tendencies of the intelligentsia and the extraordinary giftedness of the young man allowed him to take a worthy place in the company of Tomilov's friends. In the evenings, Aivazovsky often played the violin in a special, oriental manner - resting the instrument on his knee or standing upright. Glinka even included in his opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila" a small excerpt played by Aivazovsky.

It is known that Aivazovsky was familiar with Pushkin and was very fond of his poetry. The death of Alexander Sergeevich was very painfully perceived by Hovhannes, later he specially came to Gurzuf, exactly to the place where he spent time great poet. No less important for Ivan was the meeting with Karl Bryullov. Having recently completed work on the canvas “The Last Day of Pompeii”, he arrived in St. Petersburg and each of the students of the Academy passionately wished that Bryullov was his mentor.

Aivazovsky was not a student of Bryullov, but often communicated with him personally, and Karl Pavlovich noted the talent of Hovhannes. Nestor Kukolnik devoted a lengthy article to Aivazovsky precisely at Bryullov's insistence. An experienced painter saw that the subsequent studies at the Academy would be rather a regression for Ivan - there were no teachers left who could give something new to the young artist.

He proposed to the Council of the Academy to shorten Aivazovsky's study period and send him abroad. Moreover, the new marina "Shtil" won a gold medal at the exhibition. And this award just gave the right to travel abroad.

But instead of Venice and Dresden, Hovhannes was sent to the Crimea for two years. It is unlikely that Aivazovsky was not happy - he would be at home again!

Rest…

In the spring of 1838, Aivazovsky arrived in Feodosia. Finally he saw his family, his beloved city and, of course, the southern sea. Of course, the Baltic has its own charm. But for Aivazovsky, it is the Black Sea that will always be the source of the brightest inspiration. Even after such a long separation from his family, the artist puts work first.

He finds time to communicate with his mother, father, sisters and brother - everyone is sincerely proud of Hovhannes, the most promising artist in St. Petersburg! At the same time, Aivazovsky is working hard. He paints canvases for hours, and then, tired, goes to the sea. Here he can feel that mood, that elusive excitement that the Black Sea caused in him from an early age.

Soon the retired Treasurers came to visit the Aivazovskys. He, along with his parents, rejoiced at the success of Hovhannes and first of all asked to see his new drawings. Seeing the beautiful works, he immediately took the artist with him on a trip to the southern coast of Crimea.

Of course, after such a long separation, it was unpleasant to leave the family again, but the desire to feel the native Crimea outweighed. Yalta, Gurzuf, Sevastopol - everywhere Aivazovsky found material for new canvases. Treasurers, who left for Simferopol, urged the artist to visit, but he again and again upset the benefactor with a refusal - work is above all.

...before the fight!

At this time, Aivazovsky met another wonderful person. Nikolai Nikolayevich Raevsky - a brave man, an outstanding commander, the son of Nikolai Nikolayevich Raevsky, a hero of the defense of the Raevsky battery in the Battle of Borodino. The lieutenant general participated in the Napoleonic wars, the Caucasian campaigns.

These two people, unlike at first glance, were brought together by love for Pushkin. Aivazovsky, who from an early age admired the poetic genius of Alexander Sergeevich, found a kindred spirit in Raevsky. Long exciting conversations about the poet ended quite unexpectedly - Nikolai Nikolaevich invited Aivazovsky to accompany him on a sea voyage to the shores of the Caucasus and look at the landing of Russian troops. It was an invaluable opportunity to see something new, and even on the much-loved Black Sea. Hovhannes immediately agreed.

Of course, this trip was important in terms of creativity. But even here there were invaluable meetings, to keep silent about which would be a crime. On the ship "Colchis" Aivazovsky met Lev Sergeevich Pushkin, Alexander's brother. Later, when the ship joined the main squadron, Ivan met people who were an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the marine painter.

Switching from Colchis to the battleship Silistria, Aivazovsky was introduced to Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev. A hero of Russia, a participant in the famous Battle of Navarino and a discoverer of Antarctica, an innovator and competent commander, he took a keen interest in Aivazovsky and personally suggested that he switch from Colchis to Silistria to study the intricacies of naval affairs, which would undoubtedly be useful to him in his work. It would seem much further: Lev Pushkin, Nikolai Raevsky, Mikhail Lazarev - some in their entire lives will not meet even one person of this magnitude. But Aivazovsky has a completely different fate.

Later he was introduced to Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, the captain of the Silistria, the future commander of the Russian fleet in the battle of Sinop and the organizer of the heroic defense of Sevastopol. In this brilliant company, the young Vladimir Alekseevich Kornilov, the future vice admiral and captain of the famous sailing ship The Twelve Apostles, did not get lost at all. Aivazovsky worked with a very special passion these days: the atmosphere was unique. Warm surroundings, beloved Black Sea and graceful ships that could be explored to your heart's content.

But now it's time to land. Aivazovsky personally wanted to take part in it. At the last moment, they discovered that the artist was completely unarmed (of course!) And he was given a pair of pistols. So Ivan went down into the landing boat - with a briefcase for papers and paints and pistols in his belt. Although his boat was among the first to moor to the shore, Aivazovsky personally did not observe the battle. A few minutes after the landing, a friend of the artist, midshipman Frederiks, was wounded. Not finding a doctor, Ivan himself provides assistance to the wounded, and then on the boat he is sent to the ship. But upon returning to the shore, Aivazovsky sees that the battle is almost over. He gets to work without a moment's delay. However, let's give the floor to the artist himself, who in the magazine "Kyiv Starina" described the landing almost forty years later - in 1878:

“... The shore illuminated by the setting sun, the forest, the distant mountains, the fleet at anchor, the boats scurrying along the sea maintain communication with the shore ... Having passed the forest, I went to a clearing; here is a picture of rest after a recent combat alarm: groups of soldiers, officers sitting on drums, the corpses of the dead and their Circassian carts who came for cleaning. Having unfolded the briefcase, I armed myself with a pencil and began to sketch one group. At this time, some Circassian unceremoniously took my briefcase from my hands, carried it to show my drawing to his own. Whether the highlanders liked him, I don't know; I only remember that the Circassian returned the drawing to me stained with blood ... This "local color" remained on him, and I for a long time shore is a tangible memory of the expedition ... ".

What words! The artist saw everything - the coast, the setting sun, the forest, the mountains and, of course, the ships. A little later, he wrote one of his best works, Landing at Subashi. But this genius was in mortal danger during the landing! But Fate saved him for further achievements. During the vacation, Aivazovsky was still waiting for a trip to the Caucasus, and hard work on turning sketches into real canvases. But he did it with flying colors. As always, though.

Hello Europe!

Returning to St. Petersburg, Aivazovsky received the title of artist of the 14th grade. Education at the Academy ended, Hovhannes outgrew all his teachers and he was given the opportunity to travel around Europe, of course, with state support. He left with a light heart: earnings allowed him to help his parents, and he himself lived quite comfortably. And although at first Aivazovsky was supposed to visit Berlin, Vienna, Trieste, Dresden, he was most drawn to Italy. There was the much-loved South Sea and the elusive magic of the Apennines. In July 1840, Ivan Aivazovsky and his friend and classmate Vasily Sternberg went to Rome.

This trip to Italy was very useful for Aivazovsky. He received a unique opportunity to study the works of the great Italian masters. For hours he stood by the canvases, sketching them, trying to understand the secret mechanism that made the creations of Raphael and Botticelli masterpieces. Tried to visit many interesting places, for example, the house of Columbus in Genoa. And what landscapes he found! The Apennines reminded Ivan of his native Crimea, but with their own, different charm.

And there was no sense of kinship with the earth. But what opportunities for creativity! And Aivazovsky always took advantage of the opportunities provided to him. A noteworthy fact speaks eloquently about the level of the artist's skill: the Pope himself wanted to buy the painting "Chaos". Someone, but the pontiff is used to getting only the best! The quick-witted artist refused to pay, simply presenting "Chaos" to Gregory XVI. Dad did not leave him without a reward, handing him a gold medal. But the main thing is the effect of a gift in the world of painting - the name of Aivazovsky thundered throughout Europe. For the first time, but not the last time.

In addition to work, however, Ivan had another reason to visit Italy, more precisely Venice. It was there on the island of St. Lazar was lived and worked by his brother Gabriel. Being in the rank of archimandrite, he was engaged in research work and teaching. The meeting of the brothers was warm, Gabriel asked a lot about Theodosius and his parents. But soon they parted. The next time they meet is in Paris in a few years. In Rome, Aivazovsky met Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol and Alexander Andreevich Ivanov. Even here, in a foreign land, Ivan managed to find the best representatives Russian land!

Exhibitions of paintings by Aivazovsky were also held in Italy. The audience was invariably delighted and keenly interested in this young Russian, who managed to convey all the warmth of the south. Increasingly, Aivazovsky began to be recognized on the streets, people came to his studio and ordered works. “The Bay of Naples”, “View of Vesuvius on a Moonlit Night”, “View of the Venetian Lagoon” - these masterpieces were the quintessence of the Italian spirit passed through the soul of Aivazovsky. In April 1842, he sends some of the paintings to Peterburg and notifies Olenin of his intention to visit France and the Netherlands. Ivan no longer asks for permission to travel - he has enough money, he has loudly declared himself and will be warmly received in any country. He only asks for one thing - that his salary be sent to his mother.

Aivazovsky's paintings were presented at an exhibition in the Louvre and impressed the French so much that he was awarded the gold medal of the French Academy. But he did not limit himself to France alone: ​​England, Spain, Portugal, Malta - wherever one could see the sea so dear to the heart, the artist visited. The exhibitions were a success and Aivazovsky was unanimously showered with compliments by critics and inexperienced visitors. There was no longer a lack of money, but Aivazovsky lived modestly, giving himself to work to the fullest.

Artist of the Main Naval Staff

Not wanting to drag out his voyage, already in 1844 he returned to St. Petersburg. On July 1, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 3rd degree, and in September of the same year, Aivazovsky received the title of academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In addition, he is assigned to the Main Naval Staff with the right to wear a uniform! We know with what reverence the sailors treat the honor of the uniform. And here it is worn by a civilian, and even an artist!

Nevertheless, this appointment was welcomed at the Headquarters, and Ivan Konstantinovich (you can already call him that - an artist with a worldwide reputation, after all!) Enjoyed all the possible privileges of this position. He demanded drawings of ships, ship guns fired for him (so that he could better see the trajectory of the nucleus), Aivazovsky even participated in maneuvers in the Gulf of Finland! In a word, he did not just serve the number, but worked diligently and with desire. Naturally, the paintings were also on the level. Soon, Aivazovsky's paintings began to decorate the residences of the emperor, the houses of the nobility, state galleries and private collections.

The next year was very busy. In April 1845, Ivan Konstantinovich was included in the Russian delegation, which was heading to Constantinople. Having visited Turkey, Aivazovsky was struck by the beauties of Istanbul and the beautiful coast of Anatolia. After some time, he returned to Feodosia, where he bought a land plot and began to build his house-workshop, which he personally designed. Many do not understand the artist - a favorite of the sovereign, a popular artist, why not live in the capital? Or abroad? Feodosia is a wild wilderness! But Aivazovsky does not think so. He arranges an exhibition of his paintings in a newly built house, on which he works day and night. Many guests noted that despite seemingly homely conditions, Ivan Konstantinovich became haggard and turned pale. But, in spite of everything, Aivazovsky finishes work and goes to St. Petersburg - he is still a serviceman, you can’t treat this irresponsibly!

Love and War

In 1846, Aivazovsky arrived in the capital and stayed there for several years. The reason for this was the permanent exhibitions. With a frequency of six months, they took place either in St. Petersburg or in Moscow in a completely different places, then cash, then free. And at each exhibition there was the presence of Aivazovsky. He received thanks, came to visit, accepted gifts and orders. Free time in this hustle was rarely given. One of the most famous paintings was created - “The Ninth Wave”.

But it is worth noting that Ivan still went to Feodosia. The reason for this was paramount - in 1848 Aivazovsky got married. Suddenly? Until the age of 31, the artist did not have a lover - all his emotions and experiences remained on the canvases. And here is such an unexpected step. However, southern blood is hot, and love is an unpredictable thing. But even more surprising is Aivazovsky's chosen one - a simple servant Julia Grace, an Englishwoman, the daughter of a life doctor who served Emperor Alexander.

Of course, this marriage did not go unnoticed in the secular circles of St. Petersburg - many were surprised at the choice of the artist, many openly criticized him. The statute, apparently close attention to his personal life, Aivazovsky with his wife and in 1852 leaves home, to the Crimea. An additional reason (or perhaps the main one?) was that first daughter - Elena, was already at the age of three, and second daughter - Maria recently celebrated a year old. In any case, Feodosia Feodosia was waiting for Aivazovsky.

At home, the artist tries to organize an art school, but is denied funding by the emperor. Instead, he and his wife begin archaeological excavations. In 1852, the family is born third daughter - Alexandra. Ivan Konstantinovich does not leave, of course, the work on the paintings. But in 1854, a landing party landed in the Crimea, Aivazovsky hastily takes his family to Kharkov, and he himself returns to the besieged Sevastopol to his old friend Kornilov.

Kornilov orders the artist to leave the city, saving him from possible death. Aivazovsky obeys. The war ends soon. For everyone, but not for Aivazovsky - he will paint brilliant pictures on the theme of the Crimean War for a few more years.

The following years pass in confusion. Aivazovsky regularly travels to the capital, deals with the affairs of Feodosia, travels to Paris to meet his brother, and opens an art school. Born in 1859 fourth daughter - Jeanne. But Aivazovsky is constantly busy. Despite traveling, creativity takes most of the time. During this period, paintings are created on biblical themes, battle paintings that regularly appear at exhibitions - in Feodosia, Odessa, Taganrog, Moscow, St. Petersburg. In 1865, Aivazovsky received the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class.

Admiral Aivazovsky

But Julia is unhappy. Why does she need medals? Ivan ignores her requests, she does not receive due attention and in 1866 refuses to return to Feodosia. The breakup of the family Aivazovsky experienced hard, and in order to be distracted - everyone goes to work. He paints, travels around the Caucasus, Armenia, devotes all his free time to students of his art academy.

In 1869, he goes to the opening, in the same year he arranges another exhibition in St. Petersburg, and the next he receives the title of a real state councilor, which corresponded to the rank of admiral. A unique case in Russian history! In 1872 he will have an exhibition in Florence, for which he has been preparing for several years. But the effect exceeded all expectations - he was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts, and his self-portrait adorned the gallery of the Pitti Palace - Ivan Konstantinovich stood on a par with the best artists Italy and the world.

A year later, having arranged another exhibition in the capital, Aivazovsky leaves for Istanbul at the personal invitation of the Sultan. This year turned out to be fruitful - 25 canvases were painted for the Sultan! The sincerely admiring Turkish ruler bestows the Order of Osmaniye of the second degree on Peter Konstantinovich. In 1875, Aivazovsky left Turkey and went to St. Petersburg. But on the way he stops by Odessa to see his wife and children. Realizing that there is no need to wait for warmth from Julia, he invites her to go to Italy with her daughter Zhanna next year. The wife accepts the offer.

During the trip, the spouses visit Florence, Nice, Paris. Julia is pleased to appear with her husband at secular receptions, while Aivazovsky considers this to be secondary and devotes all his free time to work. Realizing that the former marital happiness cannot be returned, Aivazovsky asks the church to break off the marriage, and in 1877 his request is granted.

Returning to Russia, he travels to Feodosia with his daughter Alexandra, son-in-law Mikhail and grandson Nikolai. But the children of Aivazovsky did not have time to settle down in a new place - another Russian-Turkish war began. The following year, the artist sends his daughter with her husband and son to Feodosia, while he himself goes abroad. For two whole years.

He will visit Germany and France, visit Genoa again, and will prepare paintings for exhibitions in Paris and London. Constantly seeks out promising artists from Russia, sending petitions to the Academy for their maintenance. Painfully, he took the news of his brother's death in 1879. In order not to mope, out of habit he went to work.

Love in Feodosia and love for Feodosia

Returning to his homeland in 1880, Aivazovsky immediately went to Feodosia and began building a special pavilion for the art gallery. He spends a lot of time with his grandson Misha, taking long walks with him, carefully planting artistic taste. Every day, Aivazovsky devotes several hours to students of the art academy. He works with inspiration, with extraordinary enthusiasm for his age. But he also demands a lot from the students, is strict with them, and few can withstand studying with Ivan Konstantinovich.

In 1882, the incomprehensible happened - the 65-year-old artist married a second time! His chosen one was a 25-year-old Anna Nikitichna Burnazyan. Since Anna had recently been widowed (in fact, it was at the funeral of her husband that Aivazovsky drew attention to her), the artist had to wait a little before making a marriage proposal. January 30, 1882 Simferopol St. Assumption Church “Actual State Councilor I. K. Aivazovsky, divorced by decree of the Echmiadzin Synoid dated May 30, 1877 N 1361 with his first wife from a legal marriage, entered into a second legal marriage with the wife of a Feodosia merchant, widow Anna Mgrtchyan Sarsizova, both Armenian Gregorian confession."

Soon the spouses go to Greece, where Aivazovsky works again, including painting a portrait of his wife. In 1883, he constantly wrote letters to the ministers, defending Feodosia and proving in every possible way that its location was the best suited for building a port, and a little later he petitioned to replace the city priest. In 1887, an exhibition of paintings by a Russian artist takes place in Vienna, which, however, he did not go to, remaining in Feodosia. Instead, he devotes all his free time to creativity, his wife, students, building an art gallery in Yalta. The 50th anniversary of Aivazovsky's artistic activity was celebrated with pomp. The entire high society of St. Petersburg came to greet the professor of painting, who has become one of the symbols of Russian art.

In 1888, Aivazovsky received an invitation to visit Turkey, but did not go for political reasons. Nevertheless, he sends several dozen of his paintings to Istanbul, for which the Sultan awards him in absentia with the Order of the Medjidie of the first degree. A year later, the artist and his wife went to a personal exhibition in Paris, where he was awarded the Order foreign legion. On the way back, the married couple still calls in Istanbul so beloved by Ivan Konstantinovich.

In 1892, Aivazovsky turns 75. And he goes to America! The artist plans to refresh his impressions of the ocean, see Niagara, visit New York, Chicago, Washington and present his paintings at world exhibition. And all this in the eighth ten! Well, sit yourself in the rank of state councilor in your native Feodosia, surrounded by grandchildren and a young wife! No, Ivan Konstantinovich remembers perfectly why he rose so high. Diligence and fantastic dedication - without this, Aivazovsky will cease to be himself. However, he did not stay long in America and returned home in the same year. Came back to work. Such was Ivan Konstantinovich.

And van Konstantinovich Aivazovsky is one of the most prolific Russian marine painters. For more than 60 years of creativity, he painted over 6,000 paintings. Contemporaries were surprised - with what speed the Master created his masterpieces. The painter's techniques, the technique of execution, the selection of colors, the virtuosic effects of a transparent wave and the breath of the sea were beyond comprehension.

The artist Ivan Kramskoy wrote to Pavel 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 Muscat shops. The main secret of Aivazovsky was not a secret: in order to write the sea so believably, you need to be born and live long life at the sea shore.

Let's add a few more ingredients to this fact - diligence, talent, impeccable memory and a rich imagination - this is how Aivazovsky's famous paintings were born. That's the whole secret of genius.

The artist painted quickly and a lot - about 100 paintings a year. And all his legacy has been recognized by collectors as one of the most "strong". The artist's canvases seem to be timeless, always in excellent condition, crack least of all, and are extremely rarely subjected to restoration.

Columbus sailing through Cape Palos. 1892. Private collection

The main secret is in the technique of applying paints. Aivazovsky preferred oil, although his sea and waves seem to be watercolor. His favorite technique was glaze, based on the application of thin (almost transparent) paints on top of each other. As a result, the waves, clouds and the sea on the canvases seemed transparent and alive, and the integrity of the paint layer was not violated or destroyed.

The genius of Aivazovsky was recognized by the most prominent people Russia and the world. He met and was friendly with Pushkin, Krylov, Gogol, Zhukovsky, Bryullov, Glinka. He was received in the palaces of kings and nobles, the Pope himself gave him an audience and awarded him a gold medal for the painting “Chaos. World creation". The pontiff wanted to buy the masterpiece he liked, but Aivazovsky simply presented it.

Chaos. World creation. 1841. Museum of the Armenian Congregation of Mekhitarists, Venice, Italy

Pope Gregory XVI took the painting to the Vatican Museum. Now it is located in Venice, on the island of St. Lazarus. The fact is that at the beginning of the 20th century, Pope Leon XIII donated the painting to the Museum of the Armenian Mekhitarist Congregation. Perhaps one of the reasons was that here, on the island of St. Lazarus, the elder brother of the artist Gabriel lived. He held a prominent position in the religious fraternity. In the life of the artist, this place was sacred, reminiscent of "little Armenia" near Venice.

Byron's visit to the Mkhitarists on the island of St. Lazarus in Venice. 1899. National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan

Aivazovsky's works were admired by all of Europe - an academician and honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Arts, he was also elected an honorary member of the Academies of Arts in Amsterdam, Rome, Paris, Florence and Stuttgart.

Ivan Kramskoy wrote: “... Aivazovsky, no matter what anyone says, is a star of the first magnitude, in any case; and not only here, but in the history of art in general…”. Emperor Nicholas I declared: "Whatever Aivazovsky writes, it will be bought by me." It was with a light suggestion that Emperor Aivazovsky was secretly called the "king of the sea."

All his long and happy life is a storehouse magic stories and facts - insanely interesting and colorful. The artist participated in more than 120 exhibitions both in Russia and in Europe and America. Over 60 of them were personal! At that time, among Russian artists, only the romantic marine painter Aivazovsky could afford a personal exhibition.

You may already know that the works of Aivazovsky Not only the most sold, and at the same time - the most stolen and counterfeited in the world .

Crimean coast near Ai-Petri. 1890. Museum fine arts Republic of Karelia, Petrozavodsk

The authenticity of Aivazovsky's paintings can be verified, but this is an extremely costly procedure, both in terms of time and money. As a result, half of the things given out on the market as Aivazovsky's paintings are fakes, but they are so successful that they are still bought, but at lower prices. Moreover, the number of fakes significantly exceeds the number of originals. The master himself admitted to having written over 6,000 works throughout his life, but today more than 50,000 works are considered originals!

Aivazovsky did not paint from nature. He painted most of his paintings from memory. Sometimes it was enough for an artist to hear an interesting story, and after a moment he took up the brush. To create a masterpiece, the artist did not need much time, sometimes one session was enough ... “I can’t write quietly, I can’t pore for months. I don’t leave the picture until I speak out ” , - Ivan Konstantinovich admitted. His longest work was the painting "Among the Waves". 10 days - that's how long it took the artist, who at that time was 81 years old, to create his largest painting.

Among the waves. 1898. Feodosia Art Gallery them. I.K.Aivazovsky

It is authentically known that the plot of the picture was originally different. This became known from the words of Aivazovsky's grandson Konstantin Konstantinovich Artseulov:

The painting "Among the Waves" was created two days before his death. In length - it is almost 4.5 m, and in width - about 3.

All these short facts quite common, but there are others - little known, revealing the image of the artist and his work from various angles.

So, 5 little-known facts from the life of the artist (on the 200th anniversary of the birth of I.K. Aivazovsky)

An incident in the workshop of A.I. Kuindzhi.

Once the artist A.I. Kuindzhi invited Aivazovsky to his academic workshop in order to demonstrate to his students the skill and technique of performance, which was known only to Aivazovsky.

The Soviet landscape painter A. A. Rylov recalled this: “Arkhip Ivanovich led the guest to the easel and turned to Aivazovsky: “This is it ... Ivan Konstantinovich, show them how to write the sea.”

Sea. 1898. Lugansk Regional Art Museum

Aivazovsky named the four or five colors he needed, examined the brushes, touched the canvas, standing, without leaving the easel, playing with the brush like a virtuoso, painted a sea storm. At the request of Arkhip Ivanovich, he immediately depicted a ship rocking on the waves, and with amazing deftness, with the usual movement of the brush, he gave him a complete outfit. The painting is ready and signed. One hour and fifty minutes ago there was a blank canvas, now the sea is raging on it. With noisy applause, we expressed our gratitude to the venerable artist and escorted him to the carriage throughout the workshop.

At that time, the artist was 80 years old.

Favorite cities of Aivazovsky

It is amazing how much passion for traveling around the world and love for the motherland intertwined in this man. Where has he been! Customs officers pasted additional pages into his passport. His foreign passport contained 135 visa stamps. He visited the most beautiful countries and the cities of the planet, but with awe and admiration he treated only two cities - Constantinople and its little Theodosius, to which he was devoted until the end of his life. “My address is always in Feodosia,” he shared with Pavel Tretyakov.

Ships on the Feodosia roadstead. Honoring Aivazovsky on the occasion of his 80th birthday. 1897. Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg

Feodosia was an outlet, a historical homeland, a place of birth, an indispensable hearth and home. Constantinople - was a favorite haven during travels. Of all the cities, he glorified only this - a marvelous city on the Bosphorus.

First time in the capital Ottoman Empire he visited in 1845. Since then, he has been coming back here again and again. Exact number paintings dedicated to the views of Constantinople remains unknown. The estimated number is around 100.

View of Constantinople. 1849. Tsarskoye Selo State Artistic and Architectural Palace and Park Museum-Reserve, Pushkin

One day Turkish sultan Abdul-Aziz was presented with one of Aivazovsky's paintings. The Sultan was completely delighted and ordered the artist a series of views of the Bosphorus. Aivazovsky considered that in this way he could contribute to the establishment of mutual understanding between the Turks and Armenians, and accepted the order. He painted about 40 paintings for the Sultan . Abdul-Aziz was so pleased with the work of Aivazovsky that he awarded him the highest Turkish order "Osmaniye".

Subsequently, Aivazovsky received several more orders from the hands of the Turkish ruler. And in 1878, a peace agreement between Russia and Turkey (the so-called Peace of San Stefano) was signed in a hall decorated with paintings by Aivazovsky.

"Eastern scene". "Coffee shop at Ortakoy Mosque in Constantinople". 1846. State Artistic and Architectural Palace and Park Museum-Reserve "Peterhof".

However, when in the 1890s Sultan Abdul-Hamid staged pogroms that killed hundreds of thousands of Armenians, outraged Aivazovsky hastened to get rid of all the Ottoman awards.

Putting on the collar of the yard dog all the Turkish orders, he walked through the streets of Feodosia. They say that the whole city joined the procession. Surrounded by a huge crowd, Aivazovsky headed to the sea. Soon he climbed into the boat, and, having moved a sufficient distance from the shore, he raised the shining orders above his head and threw them into the sea.

Later, he met with the Turkish consul and said that his "bloody master" could do the same with his paintings, the artist would not regret it.

Annoyed by the aggressive policy of the Turks, Aivazovsky paints several paintings in support of the Armenians, depicting the cruel crimes of the Turks against his people. They have repeatedly exhibited at the most prestigious exhibitions in Europe. He directed all funds from the sale of paintings to help Armenian refugees. Ivan Konstantinovich did not expect help from the government or the city administration, he met refugees at the entrance to Feodosia and offered them to settle on his land, supplying them with money for the first time.

- “It is a shame to turn away from your nationality, especially such a small and oppressed one,” said Ivan Konstantinovich.

Night. Tragedy in the Sea of ​​Marmara. 1897. Private collection

"Father of the City" Ivan Aivazovsky and Feodosia

Aivazovsky was the first honorary person of Feodosia. All his life he was actively engaged in its improvement, contributed to the prosperity of the city. His influence on the Theodosian life was enormous. The artist opened an art school in Feodosia, turning Feodosia into one of the centers of pictorial culture in southern Russia. On his initiative, a city concert hall and a library were built.

Feodosia on a moonlit night. View from the balcony of Aivazovsky's house to the sea and the city. 1880. State Art Museum of the Altai Territory, Barnaul

At his expense, a parish school was created and maintained.

Aivazovsky also took part in the construction of a new building for the Feodosia Men's Gymnasium, whose students at various times were the poet and translator Maximilian Voloshin, the husband of Marina Tsvetaeva, the publicist Sergei Efron, Alexander Peshkovsky, a Russian and Soviet linguist, professor, one of the pioneers in the study of Russian syntax. Aivazovsky was the trustee of this gymnasium, allocated scholarships and paid for studies to needy students. The gymnasium existed until 1918.

The first train in Feodosia. 1892. Feodosia Art Gallery. I.K.Aivazovsky

He also ensured that a railway was built in the city. His painting "The First Train to Feodosia" was created even before the construction of the railway, that is, by imagination.

I always remember a late friend who said to me more than once: “What kind of hunt do you want, Ivan Konstantinovich, to seek a railway for Feodosia, it will only pollute the coast and obscure the wonderful view of the bay from your house.” Indeed, if I took care of myself personally, then I should have opposed the construction of the Feodosian railway with all my might. My estate is located near Feodosia and far from the projected railway line, the services of which I therefore will not have to use. The only house that belongs to me in Feodosia, in which I live, with the construction of a railway along the seashore, may become uninhabited and, in any case, will lose for me the character of a cozy corner. Those who know how to sacrifice their personal interests for the public good will easily understand what motives I am guided by in defending Theodosius ... "

All important buildings in Feodosia were behind the scenes under the supervision of Aivazovsky. A typical case from the life of the artist was described in his memoirs by Yuri Galabutsky:

"You're ruining my street!"

“Once in the winter, Aivazovsky, as usual, left for some time in St. Petersburg. When returning, as usual, two or three stations from Feodosia, he was met by those closest to him and immediately reported all the city news that I.K. listened with keen curiosity. And he learns that the inhabitant N. is building a house on the main street - Italianskaya; construction has already begun in the absence of I.K., and the house will be one-story. I.K. got terribly worried: a one-story house on the main street! Immediately upon arrival, not having had time to rest from the road, he calls the inhabitant N. He, of course, immediately appears. “Are you building a one-story house? Shame on you? You are a rich man, what are you doing? You're ruining the street for me!" . And the layman N. obediently changes the plan and builds a two-story house.

Thanks to him, the port was completely redone, expanding it and making it modern and convenient for ships. The port in Feodosia has long been considered the largest commercial port in the Crimea.

Pier in Feodosia. mid XIX V. State Vladimir-Suzdal Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve

With his own money, Aivazovsky built the building of the Archaeological Museum (the building of the museum was blown up by Soviet troops retreating from the Crimea in 1941) and donated a theater to his native city, more precisely, it was a stage in his art gallery.

In the early 1890s, according to his own project and at his own expense, Aivazovsky erected a fountain in memory of the mayor of Feodosia A. I. Kaznacheev (the fountain was lost in the 1940s).

In 1886, Feodosia experienced a severe shortage of water.

“Not being able to continue to be a witness to the terrible disaster that the population suffers from lack of water from year to year hometown, I give him 50 thousand buckets per day of clean water from the Subash spring that belongs to me, as an eternal property, ”Ivan Aivazovsky wrote in his address to the city duma in 1887.

The Subash spring was located on the estate of the artist Shah-Mamai, not far from the Old Crimea, 25 versts from Feodosia. In 1887, work began on laying a water pipe, thanks to which water came to the city. According to the artist's design, a fountain was built in the park near the embankment, from which local residents received water for free. In one of his letters, Aivazovsky wrote:

"Fountain in oriental style so good that neither in Constantinople nor anywhere else do I know such a successful one, especially in proportions.

The fountain was an exact copy of the fountain in Constantinople. Now the fountain bears the name of Aivazovsky.

In 1880, Aivazovsky opened an exhibition hall in his house (the famous Feodosia Art Gallery), which the artist bequeathed to his native city.

It is my sincere desire that the building of my art gallery in the city of Feodosia, with all the paintings, statues and other works of art in this gallery, be the full property of the city of Feodosia, and in memory of me, Aivazovsky, I bequeath the gallery to the city of Feodosia, my hometown."

Some sources claim that the artist also bequeathed the fee for visiting his gallery to the Feodosian poor.

Until the end of his days, he was busy with scholarships and pensions for the inhabitants of his city, so the news of the death of the artist was perceived as a personal grief for thousands of Feodosians, for whom Aivazovsky was a loved one - after all, he christened many children and married hundreds of neighboring girls who glorified artist, remembering his favors.

The realization that the “father of the city”, a citizen, patriot, philanthropist, who had no equal in the history of Feodosia, had passed away, came a little later. All shops were closed that day. The city plunged into the heaviest mourning.

Funeral of I.K. Aivazovsky April 22, 1900
Funeral of I.K. Aivazovsky. A hearse and a funeral procession outside the art gallery building.

For three days the Feodosian churches mourned the departure of Ivan Konstantinovich with a bell ringing. The great hall of the art gallery was filled with many funeral wreaths. For three days people went to the art gallery to honor the memory of Aivazovsky. Delegations arrived in Feodosia, including those from the Armenian diasporas.

The funeral procession stretched from Aivazovsky's house to the medieval Armenian church of St. Sargis, in the fence of which the burial took place. The choice of the burial place was not accidental - it was bequeathed by the artist himself, because it was in this church that he was baptized, and the artist's frescoes were preserved here.

Mourning veils covered the lanterns in the nearby streets. And the road itself was strewn with flowers.

The local garrison took part in the funeral, giving military honors to the deceased - a fact that was exceptional at that time. Later, an inscription in Armenian will appear on his grave: "Born a mortal, he left an immortal memory behind him."

“He was a friend of Pushkin, but he didn’t read Pushkin”

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (1817-1900)

The first and only meeting of the artist with the Great Poet of Russia took place in 1836. The artist at that time was only 19 years old. Years later, Ivan Konstantinovich recalled this meeting:

“... In 1836, three months before his death, precisely in September, Pushkin came to the Academy of Arts with his wife Natalia Nikolaevna, to our September exhibition of paintings. Upon learning that Pushkin was at the exhibition and went to antique gallery, we, the students, ran there and surrounded our beloved poet with a crowd. Arm in arm with his wife, he stood in front of the picture of the artist Lebedev, a gifted landscape painter, and looked at and admired it for a long time. Our inspector of the academy, Krutov, who ero accompanied ... saw me, took me by the hand and introduced Pushkin to the fact that he was then receiving a gold medal (I graduated from the academy that year).

Pushkin greeted me very affectionately and asked me where my paintings were... Upon learning that I was a Crimean native, Pushkin asked: “What city are you from?” Then he wondered if I had been here for a long time and if I was sick in the north ... Since then, the poet I already loved has become the subject of my thoughts, inspiration and long conversations and questions about him ... "

In February 1837, Pushkin died. For young artist, who was compared at the Academy with the brilliant Pushkin, is tragic event was catastrophic. After all, they have so much in common - a circle of friends, interests, both sang of nature, Crimea. It seemed that there were so many interesting meetings with Pushkin himself ahead ...

Aivazovsky's first experiences were reflected in the painting "Seashore at Night". The artist painted it near Kronstadt. A young man on the shore, stretching his hands forward, welcoming the approach of the storm - This is Aivazovsky's first tribute to the memory of Pushkin. Later he would dedicate about twenty more paintings and drawings to the poet. But only a few will be the most famous.

Seashore at night. At the lighthouse. 1837. Feodosia Art Gallery. I.K. Aivazovsky

A.S. Pushkin in the Crimea near the Gurzuf rocks. 1880

Pushkin on the Black Sea coast. 1887.

Nikolaev Art Museum. V.V. Vereshchagin, Ukraine

A.S. Pushkin on top of Ai-Petri at sunrise. 1899

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

A.S. Pushkin on the Black Sea coast. 1897

Odessa Art Museum, Ukraine

Farewell to A.S. Pushkin with the sea. 1877

All-Russian Museum A.S. Pushkin, St. Petersburg

The picture was executed together with I.E. Repin. Repin painted Pushkin, the landscape was made by Aivazovsky. The painting is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the poet's death. The plot was taken from Pushkin's poem - "To sea". As is known from Odessa, Pushkin was sent in 1824 to a new place of exile - to the village of Mikhailovskoye. The painting depicts the moment of farewell of the disgraced poet with the sea.

Farewell, sea! I won't forget
Your solemn beauty
And for a long, long time I will hear
Your buzz in the evening hours.
In the forests, in the deserts are silent
I will transfer, full of you,
Your rocks, your bays
And shine, and shadow, and the sound of waves.

In 1847, on the tenth anniversary of Pushkin's death, Aivazovsky presented his painting to his widow. "Moonlit night by the seaside. Constantinople".

Moonlit night at the seaside. 1847. Feodosia Art Gallery. I.K.Aivazovsky

Despite the good memory of Pushkin, Aivazovsky did not read it. Ivan Konstantinovich was absolutely indifferent to reading in general. This is known from the words of another genius - A.P. Chekhov:

“July 22, Feodosia. 1888. Yesterday I went to Shah-Mamai, the estate of Aivazovsky, 25 miles from Feodosia. The estate is luxurious, somewhat fabulous; such estates can probably be seen in Persia. Aivazovsky himself, a vigorous old man of about 75, is a cross between a good-natured Armenian woman and a bored bishop; full dignity, the hands are soft and serve them like a general. Not far away, but the nature is complex and worthy of attention.

In himself alone, he combines the general, and the bishop, and the artist, and the Armenian, and the naive grandfather, and Othello. Married to a young and very beautiful woman, which keeps in hedgehogs. Familiar with sultans, shahs and emirs. He wrote Ruslan and Lyudmila together with Glinka. He was a friend of Pushkin, but he did not read Pushkin. He has not read a single book in his life. When offered to read, he says: “Why should I read if I have my own opinions?” I stayed with him all day and dined...

Eastern origin of the artist

Self-portrait. 1874. Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy

On the net you can find many opinions regarding the origin of the artist. Russians call him a Russian artist, Armenians call him a Russian artist Armenian origin, and only, it seems that no one has ever asked the opinion of the Turks. Although, I am sure that the Turks will stubbornly prove oriental origin Aivazovsky. And in some ways they will even be right.

The fact is that immediately after the death of the artist, in 1901, book "Memories of Aivazovsky" , the author of which is a contemporary and devoted friend I.K. Aivazovsky Nikolay Kuzmin. Already on its second page you can find a story about the origin of the artist:

“Turkish blood flowed in the veins of Aivazovsky, although for some reason it was customary for us to still consider him a blood Armenian, probably due to his constant sympathy for the unfortunate Armenians, which intensified after the Anatolian and Constantinople massacres, violence and robberies, which horrified everyone, reached its climax, forcing him to secretly do good to the oppressed with a broad hand and loudly resent the inaction of Europe, which did not want to interfere in this massacre.

I. K. Aivazovsky himself once recalled his origin, in the circle of his family, the following interesting and, therefore, quite reliable legend. The story given here was originally recorded from his words and is stored in family archives artist.

“I was born in the city of Feodosia in 1817, but the real homeland of my close ancestors, my father, was far from here, not in Russia. Who would have thought that the war - this all-destroying scourge, served to ensure that my life was preserved and that I saw the light and was born precisely on the shores of my beloved Black Sea. And yet it was so. In 1770, the Russian army, led by Rumyantsev, laid siege to Bendery. The fortress was taken, and the Russian soldiers, irritated by the stubborn resistance and death of their comrades, scattered around the city and, listening only to the feeling of revenge, spared neither sex nor age.

Among their victims was the secretary of the Pasha of Bendery. Mortally struck by a Russian grenadier, he bled to death, clutching a baby in his arms, who was preparing the same fate. The Russian bayonet was already raised over the young Turk, when one Armenian held his punishing hand with an exclamation: "Stop! This is my son! He's a Christian!" A noble lie served to save, and the child was spared. This child was my father. The good Armenian did not end his beneficence with this, he became the second father of a Muslim orphan, christening him under the name of Konstantin and giving him the surname Gayvazovsky, from the word Gayzov, which in Turkish means secretary.

Having lived for a long time with his benefactor in Galicia, Konstantin Aivazovsky finally settled in Feodosia, where he married a young beautiful southerner, also an Armenian, and at first engaged in successful trading operations "...

The real name of the artist is Hovhannes Ayvazyan . The father of the future master, Konstantin (Gevorg), an Armenian by origin, after moving to Feodosia, wrote a surname in the Polish manner: “ Gaivazovsky" . Until the 1940s, one could even see the signature "Guy" in the master's paintings - an abbreviation for the surname. But in 1841, the artist finally changed his surname and officially became Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky.

The most expensive painting by Ivan Aivazovsky:

View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus. 1856. Private collection

"View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus" today is in a private collection. In 2012, the painting was sold for £3.23 million.

The painting went to an unnamed buyer over the phone after an intense auction in the hall. At the same time, the final price was almost three times higher than the lower limit of the estimate - Sotheby's experts estimated Aivazovsky at 1.2-1.8 million pounds.

Aivazovsky first visited Constantinople in 1845 as an official artist of the Russian Admiralty. The artist has repeatedly addressed the theme of this city, he has paintings with views of Hagia Sophia and the Golden Horn Bay, but most of them are not very large. This work is quite a monumental canvas.

It is noteworthy that “the view of Constantinople and the Bosporus Bay, which depicts the lively life of the port with the Tophane Nusretiye mosque, was restored by the artist from memory.

For the 200th anniversary of Ivan Aivazovsky, a wonderful online publication about art Arthive revived the canvases of the great marine painter. What came of it, see for yourself:

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