Ivan Aivazovsky - the most expensive painting, secret colors and other interesting facts. Painting "Black Sea", Aivazovsky - description

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The life of an inimitable marine painter

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

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

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

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

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

The skill and creativity of the genius of the sea element

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

Amazing speed of work completion

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

The most popular creations of the artist

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

"The Ninth Wave" (1850)

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

"Clouds over the sea, calm" (1889)

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

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia:
After the end of the war in 1856, on the way from France, where international exhibition His works were exhibited, Aivazovsky visited Istanbul for the second time. He was warmly received by the local Armenian diaspora, and also, under the patronage of the court architect Sarkis Balyan, was received by Sultan Abdul-Mecid I. By that time, the Sultan’s collection already had one painting by Aivazovsky. As a sign of admiration for his work, the Sultan awarded Ivan Konstantinovich the Order of Nishan Ali, IV degree.
I.K. Aivazovsky made his third trip to Istanbul, at the invitation of the Armenian diaspora, in 1874. Many artists in Istanbul at that time were influenced by the work of Ivan Konstantinovich. This is especially evident in the marine paintings of M. Jivanyan. Brothers Gevork and Vagen Abdullahi, Melkop Telemakyu, Hovsep Samandzhiyan, Mkrtich Melkisetikyan later recalled that Aivazovsky also had a significant influence on their work. One of Aivazovsky’s paintings was presented by Sarkis Bey (Sarkis Balyan) to Sultan Abdul-Aziz. The Sultan liked the painting so much that he immediately ordered the artist 10 canvases with views of Istanbul and the Bosphorus. While working on this order, Aivazovsky constantly visited the Sultan’s palace, became friends with him, and as a result he painted not 10, but about 30 different canvases. Before Ivan Konstantinovich’s departure, an official reception was arranged for the padishah in honor of his being awarded the Order of Osmania, II degree.
A year later, Aivazovsky again goes to the Sultan and brings him two paintings as a gift: “View of St. Petersburg from the Holy Trinity Bridge” and “Winter in Moscow” (these paintings are currently in the collection of the Dolmabahce Palace Museum).
The next war with Turkey ended in 1878. The San Stefano Peace Treaty was signed in a hall whose walls were decorated with paintings by a Russian artist. This was a symbol of future good relations between Turkey and Russia.
Paintings by I.K. Aivazovsky, which were in Turkey, were repeatedly exhibited in various exhibitions. In 1880, an exhibition of the artist’s paintings was held in the building of the Russian embassy. At the end of it, Sultan Abdul-Hamid II presented I.K. Aivazovsky with a diamond medal.
In 1881, the owner of the art store Ulman Grombach held an exhibition of works famous masters: Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Bruegl, Aivazovsky, Jerome. In 1882, the art exhibition I.K. Aivazovsky and Turkish artist Oskan Efendi. The exhibitions were a huge success.
In 1888, another exhibition was held in Istanbul, organized by Levon Mazirov (nephew of I.K. Aivazovsky), at which 24 paintings by the artist were presented. Half of her proceeds went to charity. It was during these years that the first graduation of the Ottoman Academy of Arts occurred. Aivazovsky’s style of writing can be traced in the works of Academy graduates: “The sinking of the ship “Ertugrul” in Tokyo Bay” by the artist Osman Nuri Pasha, the painting “Ship” by Ali Cemal, some marinas of Diyarbakır Tahsin.
In 1890, Ivan Konstantinovich made his last trip to Istanbul. He visited the Armenian Patriarchate and Yildiz Palace, where he left his paintings as a gift. On this visit, he was awarded the Order of Medjidiye, I degree, by Sultan Abdul-Hamid II.
Currently several famous paintings Aivazovsky are located in Turkey. The Military Museum in Istanbul houses the 1893 painting “Ship on the Black Sea”; the 1889 painting “Ship and Boat” is kept in one of the private collections. The residence of the President of Turkey houses the painting “A Ship Sinking in a Storm” (1899).

Aivazovsky Ivan Konstantinovich, part 1 (1817 - 1900)

I.N. Kramskoy argued that Aivazovsky “is a star of the first magnitude, in any case, and not only here, but in the history of art in general.”
P.M. Tretyakov, wanting to buy a painting for his gallery, wrote to the artist: “...Give me your magic water, such that it would fully convey your incomparable talent.”
In painting, Aivazovsky was, first of all, a poet. The artist said about himself: “The plot of the painting is formed in my memory, like the plot of a poem by a poet, having made a sketch on a piece of paper, I begin to work and do not leave the canvas until I have expressed myself on it with my brush.”
Over his long life, he wrote up to 6,000 works. The best of them have entered the treasury of world culture. His paintings are in many galleries around the world

Portrait of the artist Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
1841
Oil on canvas 72 x 54.2

Moscow

Ivan (Hovhannes) Konstantinovich Aivazovsky was born on July 17 (30), 1817 in Feodosia. Aivazovsky's ancestors moved from Western (Turkish) Armenia to southern Poland in the 18th century. IN early XIX century, merchant Konstantin (Gevorg) Gaivazovsky moved from Poland to Feodosia. After the plague epidemic hit Feodosia in 1812, life was not easy for the Gaivazovsky family. Konstantin Hripsime’s wife, a skilled embroiderer, helped support the family, which included two daughters and three sons.

Aivazovsky received his primary education at an Armenian parish school, and then graduated from the Simferopol gymnasium, to which the city architect Koch helped place him. In 1833, with the assistance of the Feodosian mayor A. Kaznacheev, Aivazovsky went to St. Petersburg, and based on the children’s drawings presented, he was enrolled in the Academy of Arts in the landscape class of Professor M. N. Vorobyov. Then he studied in the battle class with A. Sauerweid and for a short time with the marine painter F. Tanner, invited from France.

Already in 1835, for “Study of Air over the Sea” he was awarded a silver medal of the second dignity. In 1837, for three marine views and especially for the painting “Calm” he was awarded the First Prize. gold medal and shorten the academic course by two years with the condition that during this time he paint landscapes of a number of Crimean cities. As a result of the trip to Crimea, views of Yalta, Feodosia, Sevastopol, Kerch and the paintings “Moonlit Night in Gurzuf” (1839), “Storm”, “Sea Shore” (1840) appeared.

Aivazovsky I.K. Moonlit night in Crimea. Gurzuf.
1839
Sumsky Art Museum

"Coast"
1840
Canvas, oil. 42.8 x 61.5 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

Windmill on the seashore"
1837
Oil on canvas 67 x 96

Saint Petersburg

Seashore at night
1837
47 x 66 cm
Canvas, oil
Romanticism, realism
Russia
Feodosia. Feodosiyskaya Art Gallery them. I.K.

Kerch
1839

In 1839, Aivazovsky took part as an artist in a naval campaign to the shores of the Caucasus. On board the ship he meets M.P. Lazarev, V.A. Kornilov, P.S. Nakhimov, V.N. Istomin, and gets the opportunity to study the designs of warships. Creates the first battle painting - “Landing at Subashi”.

“Landing N.N. Raevsky at Subashi"
1839
Canvas, oil. 66 x 97 cm
Samara Art Museum
There he also met the Decembrists M. M. Naryshkin, A. I. Odoevsky, N. N. Lorer, demoted to the rank and file, who took part in the case under Subashi. The artist’s Crimean works were successfully exhibited at an exhibition at the Academy of Arts, and as an incentive, I.K. Aivazovsky was given a business trip to Italy.

"Naval Battle of Navarino (October 2, 1827)"
1846
Oil on canvas 222 x 234

Saint Petersburg

"Naval Battle of Vyborg June 29, 1790"
1846
Canvas, oil. 222 x 335 cm
Higher Naval Engineering School named after. F.E.Dzerzhinsky

"Naval Battle of Reval (9 May 1790)"
1846
Oil on canvas 222 x 335
Naval School named after. F. E. Dzerzhinsky
Saint Petersburg
Russia

In 1840, Aivazovsky went to Italy. There he meets prominent figures of Russian literature, art, and science - Gogol, Alexander Ivanov, Botkin, Panaev. At the same time, in 1841, the artist changed his last name Gaivazovsky to Aivazovsky.

Azure Grotto. Naples
1841
74 x 100 cm
Canvas, oil
Romanticism, realism
Russia
Donetsk. Donetsk Art Museum,

View of the Venetian Lagoon
1841 76x118

The artist’s activity in Rome begins with studying and copying the works of past masters; he works a lot on full-scale studies. In one of his letters, Aivazovsky said: “I, like a bee, collect honey from a flower garden.” Throughout his life, he returned to the landscapes of Italy; the harmonious coexistence of man and sea in this country was imprinted in his memory as an example of beauty. Aivazovsky created about fifty large paintings in Italy. The artist’s success was brought to him by the romantic seascapes “Storm”, “Chaos”, “Bay of Naples on a Moonlit Night” (1839) and others. His painting “Chaos” was acquired by the Vatican Museum. Pope Gregory XVI awarded the artist a gold medal. The artist’s talent is recognized by art connoisseurs and colleagues. A. Ivanov notes Aivazovsky’s abilities in depicting the sea, engraver F. Jordan claims that Aivazovsky is the pioneer of the genre of marine painting in Rome.

"Chaos. World creation"
1841
Oil on canvas 106 x 75
Museum of the Armenian Mekhitarist Congregation
Venice. Island of St. Lazarus

"Bay of Naples"
1841
Oil on canvas 73 x 108

View of Constantinople in the evening light
1846 120x189.5

"View of Constantinople by moonlight"
1846
Oil on canvas 124 x 192
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg
Russia

1850
Oil on canvas 121 x 190

Feodosia

"The Bay of Naples on a Moonlit Night"
1892
Oil on canvas 45 x 73
Collection of A. Shahinyan
NY

In 1843, the artist began his journey with an exhibition of paintings throughout Europe. “Rome, Naples, Venice, Paris, London, Amsterdam awarded me the most flattering encouragements,” recalled Aivazovsky. One of them is the title of academician awarded by the Amsterdam Academy of Fine Arts. As the only representative of Russian art, he participated in the international exhibition organized at the Louvre. Ten years later he was the first foreign artists became a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

"Shipwreck"
1843
Oil on canvas 116 x 189
Feodosia Art Gallery named after. I.K. Aivazovsky
Feodosia
Russia

In 1844, two years ahead of schedule, Aivazovsky returned to Russia. Upon returning to his homeland, the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts awarded him the title of academician. The Navy Department awarded him honorary title the artist of the Main Naval Staff with the right to wear an admiralty uniform and commissioned an “extensive and complex order” - to paint all Russian military ports on the Baltic Sea. During the winter months of 1844 - 1845. Aivazovsky fulfilled the government order and created a number of other beautiful marinas.

"Russian squadron on the Sevastopol roadstead"
1846
Canvas, oil. 121 x 191 cm
State Russian Museum

In 1845, together with the expedition of F.P. Litke, Aivazovsky visited the coasts of Turkey and Asia Minor. During this voyage he did a large number of pencil drawings, which served him for many years as material for creating paintings, which he always painted in the studio. Returning from the expedition, Aivazovsky leaves for Feodosia. “It's a feeling or a habit, it's second nature to me. “I willingly spend the winter in St. Petersburg,” the artist wrote, “but as soon as it blows in the spring, I am attacked by homesickness - I am drawn to the Crimea, to the Black Sea.”

View of Feodosia
1845
70 x 96 cm
Canvas, oil
Romanticism, realism
Russia
Yerevan. State Art Gallery of Armenia

Feodosia. Sunrise
1852 60x90

In Feodosia, the artist built a house-studio on the seashore and finally settled here. In winter, he usually visited St. Petersburg and other Russian cities with his exhibitions, and sometimes traveled abroad. During his long life, Aivazovsky made a number of travels: he visited Italy, Paris and others several times. European cities, 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 trip to America. During his sea voyages, he enriched his observations, and drawings accumulated in his folders. The artist spoke about his creative method: “A person who is not gifted with a memory that preserves the impressions of living nature can be an excellent copyist, a living photographic apparatus, but never a true artist. The movements of living elements are elusive to the brush: painting lightning, a gust of wind, a splash of a wave is unthinkable from life. The plot of the picture is formed in my memory, like the plot of a poem by a poet...”

Meeting of fishermen on the shores of the Gulf of Naples 1842 58x85
"Meeting of fishermen"
Canvas, oil. 58 x 85 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

"Gondelier on the Sea at Night"
1843
Oil on canvas 73 x 112
State Museum fine arts Republic of Tatarstan
Kazan
Russia

"Venetian Lagoon. View of the island of San Giorgio"
1844
Wood, oil. 22.5 x 34.5 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

Mill on the seashore 1851 50x57

"Sunrise in Feodosia"
1855
Oil on canvas 82 x 117

Yerevan

"St. George's Monastery. Cape Fiolent"
1846
Oil on canvas 122.5 x 192.5
Feodosia Art Gallery named after. I.K. Aivazovsky
Feodosia

View of Odessa on a moonlit night
1846
122 x 190 cm
Canvas, oil
Romanticism, realism
Russia

"View of Odessa from the sea"
1865
Oil on canvas 45 x 58
State Art Gallery of Armenia
Yerevan

Aivazovsky’s painting of the forties and fifties was marked by the strong influence of the romantic traditions of K. P. Bryullov, which affected the artist’s painting skills. Like Bryullov, he strives to create grandiose colorful canvases. This was very clearly reflected in the battle painting “Battle of Chesme”, written by him in 1848, dedicated to the outstanding naval battle. The battle is depicted at night. In the depths of the bay, burning ships of the Turkish fleet are visible, one of them at the moment of the explosion. Covered in fire and smoke, the wreckage of the ship flies into the air, turning into a blazing fire. In the foreground, in a dark silhouette, stands the flagship of the Russian fleet, to which, saluting, a boat with the crew of Lieutenant Ilyin, who blew up his fire-ship among the Turkish flotilla, approaches. On the water you can make out the wreckage of Turkish ships with groups of sailors calling for help, and other details.

"Battle of Chesme June 25-26, 1770"
1848
Oil on canvas 220 x 188
Feodosia Art Gallery named after. I.K. Aivazovsky
Feodosia

Review of the Black Sea Fleet in 1849
1886 131x249

"Brig Mercury attacked by two Turkish ships"
1892
Canvas, oil

“The brig Mercury, after defeating two Turkish ships, meets with the Russian squadron”
1848
Oil on canvas 123 x 190
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg

"Storm at Sea at Night"
1849
Oil on canvas 89 x 106
Palaces-museums and parks of Petrodvorets
Peterhof, Leningrad region

Aivazovsky's contribution to battle painting is significant. He captured episodes of the Sevastopol defense and repeatedly turned to heroic deeds Russian navy: “Every victory of our troops on land or at sea,” the artist wrote, “makes me happy, as a Russian at heart, and gives me an idea of ​​how an artist can depict it on canvas...”.

"Storm"
1850
Oil on canvas 82 x 117
State Art Gallery of Armenia
Yerevan

Aivazovsky was the last and most prominent representative romantic direction in Russian painting. Its the best romantic works the second half of the 40s - 50s are: “Storm on the Black Sea” (1845), “St. George’s Monastery” (1846), “Entrance to the Sevastopol Bay” (1851).

Entrance to Sevastopol Bay 1852

View of Constantinople by moonlight
1846
124 x 192 cm
Canvas, oil
Romanticism, realism
Russia
Saint Petersburg. State Russian Museum

View of the Leander Tower in Constantinople
1848
Canvas, oil
58 x 45.3
Tretyakov Gallery

The largest marine painter in Russian painting of the 19th century, I.K. Aivazovsky, traveled a lot and often included images of famous architectural structures in his seascapes. The Leandrova (Maiden) Tower depicted in the painting was built in the 12th century on a small rock at the entrance to the strait of Istanbul harbor and has long served as a lighthouse and mooring place for ships. It is still used as a lighthouse today. The tower rises against the background of a golden sky, the rays of the setting sun paint the surface of the sea water in pearlescent tones, and silhouettes of buildings appear in the distance ancient city. Soft sunlight romanticizes the landscape created by the artist.

"Moonlight night"
1849
Oil on canvas 123 x 192
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg

Sunset on the sea
1856
121.5x188

“Night in Crimea. View of Ayudag"
1859
Oil on canvas 63 x 83
Odessa Art Museum
Odessa

Storm
1857
100x49

The fifties are associated with the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856. As soon as word of the Battle of Sinop reached Aivazovsky, he immediately went to Sevastopol and asked the participants in the battle about all the circumstances of the case. Soon two paintings by Aivazovsky were exhibited in Sevastopol, depicting Sinop battle night and day. Admiral Nakhimov, highly appreciating the work of Aivazovsky, especially night fight, said: “The picture is extremely well done.”

“Sinop battle (day version)”
1853
Canvas, oil

“Battle of Sinop November 18, 1853 (the night after the battle)”
1853
Canvas, oil. 220 x 331 cm
Central Naval Museum

Capture of the Turkish military transport Messina by the steamer "Russia" on the Black Sea on December 13, 1877

The battle of the Vesta steamship with the Turkish battleship Fehti-Buland in the Black Sea on July 11, 1877

In Aivazovsky’s work one can find paintings of the most various topics, for example, images of the nature of Ukraine. He loved the boundless Ukrainian steppes and inspiredly depicted them in his works (“Chumatsky convoy” (1868), “Ukrainian landscape” (1868)), coming close to the landscape of the masters of Russian ideological realism. Aivazovsky’s proximity to Gogol, Shevchenko, and Sternberg played a role in this attachment to Ukraine.

Chumaks on vacation
1885

Convoy in the steppe

"Ukrainian landscape with Chumaks under the moon"
1869
Canvas, oil. 60 x 82 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery

Windmills in the Ukrainian Steppe at sunset
1862 51x60

"A Flock of Sheep in a Storm"
1861
Oil on canvas 76 x 125
Collection of A. Shahinyan
NY

Neighborhoods of Yalta at night
1866

Neighborhoods of Yalta
1863
20.2x28

Storm on the North Sea
1865 269x195

Sunset on the sea
1866

Moonlit night on the Bosphorus
1894 49.7x75.8

After the storm. Moon rise
1894 41x58

“View of the sea from the mountains at sunset”
1864
Oil on canvas 122 x 170
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg

« global flood»
1864
Oil on canvas 246.5 x 369
State Russian Museum
Saint Petersburg

"The Death of Pompeii"
1889
Oil on canvas 128 x 218
Rostovsky regional museum fine arts
Rostov
to be continued...

Http://gallerix.ru/album/aivazovsky
http://www.artsait.ru/art/a/aivazovsky/main.htm

The sea and Aivazovsky have been synonymous for a century and a half. We say “Aivazovsky” - we imagine the sea, and when we see a sea sunset or storm, a sailboat or foaming surf, calm or sea breeze, we say: “Pure Aivazovsky!”

It's hard not to recognize Aivazovsky. But today “Arthive” will show you a rare and little-known Aivazovsky. Aivazovsky unexpected and unusual. Aivazovsky, whom you may not even immediately recognize. In short, Aivazovsky without the sea.

Winter landscape. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1880s

These are graphic self-portraits of Aivazovsky. Perhaps he is unrecognizable here. And he looks more like not his own picturesque images (see below), but his good friend, with whom he traveled around Italy in his youth - Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. Self-portrait on the left - Gogol, composing “ Dead Souls"at a table littered with drafts.

Even more interesting is the self-portrait on the right. Why not with a palette and brushes, but with a violin? Because the violin was Aivazovsky’s faithful friend for many years. No one remembered who gave it to 10-year-old Hovhannes, a boy from a large and poor family of Armenian immigrants in Feodosia. Of course, parents couldn’t afford to hire a teacher. But that wasn't necessary. Hovhannes was taught to play by traveling musicians at the Feodosia bazaar. His hearing turned out to be excellent. Aivazovsky could pick out any tune, any melody by ear.

The aspiring artist brought his violin with him to St. Petersburg and played “for the soul.” Often at a party, when Hovhannes made useful acquaintances and began to visit society, he was asked to play the violin. Possessing an easy-going character, Aivazovsky never refused. In the biography of composer Mikhail Glinka, written by Vsevolod Uspensky, there is the following fragment: “Once at the Puppeteer, Glinka met with a student of the Academy of Arts, Aivazovsky. He masterfully sang a wild Crimean song, sitting Tatar-style on the floor, swaying and holding the violin to his chin. Glinka really liked Aivazovsky’s Tatar tunes; his imagination was attracted to the east from his youth... Two tunes eventually became part of the Lezginka, and the third - in the Ratmir scene in the third act of the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila.”

Aivazovsky will take his violin with him everywhere. On the ships of the Baltic squadron, his playing entertained the sailors; the violin sang to them about warm seas and better life. In St. Petersburg, seeing my first future wife Julia Grevs at a social reception (she was just the governess of the master's children), Aivazovsky did not dare to introduce himself - instead, he would again pick up the violin and belt out a serenade in Italian.

An interesting question: why in the picture Aivazovsky does not rest the violin on his chin, but holds it like a cello? Biographer Yulia Andreeva explains this feature as follows: “According to numerous testimonies of contemporaries, he held the violin in an oriental manner, resting it on his left knee. This way he could play and sing at the same time.”

Self-portrait of Ivan Aivazovsky, 1874

And this self-portrait of Aivazovsky is just for comparison: unlike the not so widely known previous ones, the reader is probably familiar with it. But if in the first Aivazovsky reminded Gogol, then in this one, with well-groomed sideburns, he resembled Pushkin. By the way, this was precisely the opinion of Natalya Nikolaevna, the poet’s wife. When Aivazovsky was presented to the Pushkin couple at an exhibition at the Academy of Arts, Natalya Nikolaevna kindly noted that the artist’s appearance very much reminded her of the portraits of young Alexander Sergeevich.

Petersburg. Crossing the Neva. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1870s

At the first (and if we ignore the legends, then the only) meeting, Pushkin asked Aivazovsky two questions. The first one is more than predictable when you meet someone: where is the artist from? But the second one is unexpected and even somewhat familiar. Pushkin asked Aivazovsky if he was freezing, southern man, In Petersburg? If only Pushkin knew how right he turned out to be. All the winters at the Academy of Arts, young Hovhannes was indeed catastrophically cold.

There are drafts in the halls and classrooms, teachers are wrapped in down scarves backs. 16-year-old Hovhannes Aivazovsky, accepted into the class of Professor Maxim Vorobyov, has numb fingers from the cold. He is chilly, wraps himself in a paint-stained jacket that is not warm at all, and coughs all the time.

It is especially difficult at night. A moth-eaten blanket does not allow you to warm up. All members are chilled, tooth does not touch tooth, and for some reason the ears are especially cold. When the cold prevents you from sleeping, student Aivazovsky remembers Feodosia and the warm sea.

Headquarters physician Overlach writes reports to the President of the Academy Olenin about Hovhannes’ unsatisfactory health: “Academician Aivazovsky, was transferred several years ago to St. Petersburg from the southern region of Russia and precisely from the Crimea, since his very stay here he has always felt unwell and has already been used many times I was in the academic infirmary, suffering, both before and now, chest pain, dry cough, shortness of breath when climbing stairs and a strong heartbeat.”

Is this why “Crossing the Neva,” a rare St. Petersburg landscape for Aivazovsky’s work, looks like it makes your teeth ache from the imaginary cold? It was written in 1877, the Academy is long gone, but the feeling of the piercing cold of Northern Palmyra remains. Giant ice floes rose on the Neva. The Admiralty Needle appears through the cold, hazy colors of the purple sky. It's cold for the tiny people in the cart. It's chilly, alarming - but also fun. And it seems that there is so much new, unknown, interesting - there, ahead, behind the veil of frosty air.

Betrayal of Judas. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1834

The State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg carefully preserves Aivazovsky’s sketch “The Betrayal of Judas.” It is made on gray paper with white and Italian pencil. In 1834, Aivazovsky was preparing a painting for biblical theme on the instructions of the Academy. Hovhannes was quite secretive by nature, loved to work alone and did not understand at all how his idol Karl Bryullov was able to write in front of any crowd of people.

Aivazovsky, on the contrary, preferred solitude for his work, so when he presented “The Betrayal of Judas” to his comrades at the academy, it came as a complete surprise to them. Many simply could not believe that a 17-year-old provincial, only in his second year of study, was capable of such a thing.

And then his ill-wishers came up with an explanation. After all, Aivazovsky always disappears from the collector and philanthropist Alexei Romanovich Tomilov? And in his collection there are Bryullovs, Poussins, Rembrandts, and who knows who else. Surely the cunning Hovhannes simply copied a painting there by some little-known European master in Russia and passed it off as his own.

Fortunately for Aivazovsky, the president of the Academy of Arts, Alexei Nikolaevich Olenin, had a different opinion about “The Betrayal of Judas.” Olenin was so impressed by Hovhannes’ skill that he honored him with high favor - he invited him to stay with him at the Priyutino estate, where Pushkin and Krylov, Borovikovsky and Venetsianov, Kiprensky and the Bryullov brothers visited. An unheard of honor for a novice academician.

Eastern stage. Coffee shop near the Ortakoy Mosque in Constantinople. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1846

By 1845, 27-year-old Aivazovsky, whose seascapes were already resounding throughout Europe from Amsterdam to Rome, was being paid tribute in Russia. He receives “Anna on the Neck” (Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree), the title of academician, 1,500 acres of land in Crimea for 99 years of use, and most importantly, an official naval uniform. The Naval Ministry, for services to the Fatherland, appoints Aivazovsky as the first painter of the Main Naval Staff. Now Aivazovsky is required to be allowed into all Russian ports and onto all ships, wherever he wishes to go. And in the spring of 1845, at the insistence of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the artist was included in Admiral Litke’s naval expedition to Turkey and Asia Minor.

By that time, Aivazovsky had already traveled all over Europe (his foreign passport had more than 135 visas, and customs officers were tired of adding new pages to it), but had not yet been to the lands of the Ottomans. For the first time he sees Chios and Patmos, Samos and Rhodes, Sinop and Smyrna, Anatolia and the Levant. And most of all he was impressed by Constantinople: “My voyage,” wrote Aivazovsky, “with his Imperial Highness Konstantin Nikolayevich was extremely pleasant and interesting, everywhere I managed to sketch sketches for paintings, especially in Constantinople, from which I am in admiration. There is probably nothing in the world more majestic than this city; both Naples and Venice are forgotten there.”

“Coffee shop at the Ortakoy Mosque” is one of the views of Constantinople painted by Aivazovsky after this first trip. In general, Aivazovsky’s relations with Turkey are a long and difficult story. He will visit Turkey more than once. The artist was highly appreciated Turkish rulers: in 1856, Sultan Abdul-Mejid I awarded him the Order of “Nitshan Ali”, 4th degree, in 1881, Sultan Abdul-Hamid II - with a diamond medal. But between these awards there was also Russian-Turkish war 1877, during which Aivazovsky’s house in Feodosia was partially destroyed by a shell. However, it is significant that the peace treaty between Turkey and Russia was signed in a hall decorated with paintings by Aivazovsky. When visiting Turkey, Aivazovsky communicated especially warmly with the Armenians living in Turkey, who respectfully called him Aivaz Effendi. And when in the 1890s the Turkish Sultan committed a monstrous massacre in which thousands of Armenians died, Aivazovsky defiantly threw Ottoman awards into the sea, saying that he advised the Sultan to do the same with his paintings.

“Coffee shop at the Ortakoy Mosque” by Aivazovsky - perfect image Turkey. Ideal - because it is peaceful. Sitting relaxing on embroidered pillows and immersed in contemplation, Turks drink coffee, inhale hookah smoke, and listen to unobtrusive melodies. Molten air flows. Time flows between your fingers like sand. No one is in a hurry - there is no need to rush: everything necessary for the fullness of being is already concentrated in the present moment.

Windmills in the Ukrainian steppe at sunset. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1862

It cannot be said that Aivazovsky in the landscape “Windmills in the Ukrainian steppe...” is unrecognizable. A wheat field in the sunset rays is almost like the rippling surface of the sea, and the mills are the same frigates: in some the wind inflates the sails, in others it rotates the blades. Where and, most importantly, when could Aivazovsky take his mind off the sea and become interested in the Ukrainian steppe?

Returning from the wedding. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1891

Chumaks on vacation. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1885

Perhaps when he moved his family from Feodosia to Kharkov for a short time? And he didn’t transport it idly, but hastily evacuate it. In 1853, Turkey declared war on Russia, in March 1854 England and France joined it - the Crimean War. In September the enemy was already in Yalta. Aivazovsky urgently needed to save his relatives - his wife, four daughters, and old mother. “With spiritual sorrow,” the artist reported to one of the correspondents, “we had to leave our dear Crimea, leaving behind all our wealth, acquired by our labors over the course of fifteen years. In addition to my family, my 70-year-old mother, I had to take all my relatives with me, so we stopped in Kharkov, as the closest city to the south and inexpensive for a modest life.”

The biographer writes that in the new place, Aivazovsky’s wife Yulia Grevs, who had previously actively helped her husband in Crimea in his archaeological excavations and ethnographic research, “tried to captivate Aivazovsky with archeology or scenes of Little Russian life.” After all, Julia really wanted her husband and father to stay with the family longer. It didn’t work out: Aivazovsky rushed to besieged Sevastopol. For several days under bombardment, he painted naval battles from life, and only a special order from Vice Admiral Kornilov forced the fearless artist to leave the theater of military operations. Nevertheless, Aivazovsky’s legacy includes quite a lot of ethnographic-genre scenes and Ukrainian landscapes: “Chumaks on Vacation,” “Wedding in Ukraine,” “Winter Scene in Little Russia” and others.

Portrait of Senator Alexander Ivanovich Kaznacheev, leader of the nobility of the Tauride province. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1848

Aivazovsky left relatively few portraits. But he wrote to this gentleman more than once. However, this is not surprising: the artist considered Alexander Ivanovich Kaznacheev his “second father.” When Aivazovsky was still small, Kaznacheev served as the mayor of Feodosia. At the end of the 1820s, he increasingly began to receive complaints: someone was playing pranks in the city - painting fences and whitewashed walls of houses. The mayor went to inspect the art. On the walls were figures of soldiers, sailors and silhouettes of ships, induced by samovar coal - I must say, very, very believable. After some time, city architect Koch informed Treasurer that he had identified the author of this “graffiti.” It was 11-year-old Hovhannes, the son of the market elder Gevork Gaivazovsky.

“You draw beautifully,” Kaznacheev agreed when he met the “criminal,” “but why on other people’s fences?!” However, he immediately understood: the Aivazovskys are so poor that they cannot buy drawing supplies for their son. And Kaznacheev did it himself: instead of punishment, he gave Hovhannes a stack of good paper and a box of paints.

Hovhannes began to visit the mayor’s house and became friends with his son Sasha. And when in 1830 Kaznacheev became the governor of Tavria, he took Aivazovsky, who had become a member of the family, to Simferopol so that the boy could study at the gymnasium there, and three years later he made every effort to ensure that Hovhannes was enrolled in Imperial Academy arts

When the grown and famous Aivazovsky returns to live in Crimea forever, he will maintain friendly relations with Alexander Ivanovich. And even in a sense, he will imitate his “said father”, intensively caring for the poor and disadvantaged and founding the “General Workshop” - an art school for local talented youth. And Aivazovsky, using his own design and at his own expense, will erect a fountain in honor of Kaznacheev in Feodosia.

Caravan in an oasis. Egypt. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1871

On November 17, 1869, the Suez Canal was opened for navigation. Laid through the Egyptian deserts, it connected the Mediterranean and Red Seas and became a conditional border between Africa and Eurasia. The inquisitive and still greedy for impressions 52-year-old Aivazovsky could not miss such an event. He came to Egypt as part of the Russian delegation and became the first marine painter in the world to paint the Suez Canal.

"Those pictures in which main strength- the light of the sun... must be considered the best,” Aivazovsky was always convinced. And there was just an abundance of sun in Egypt - just work. Palm trees, sand, pyramids, camels, distant desert horizons and “Caravan in an oasis” - all this remains in Aivazovsky’s paintings.

The artist also left interesting memories of the first meeting of Russian song and the Egyptian desert: “When the Russian steamship was entering the Suez Canal, the French steamer ahead of it ran aground, and the swimmers were forced to wait until it was removed. This stop lasted about five hours.

She was beautiful Moonlight night, which gave some kind of majestic beauty to the deserted shores of the ancient country of the pharaohs, separated by a canal from the Asian shore.

To shorten the time, the passengers of the Russian steamship staged an impromptu vocal concert: Ms. Kireeva, having beautiful voice, took on the duties of lead singer, a harmonious choir picked up...

And so on the shores of Egypt a song sounded about “Mother Volga”, about the “dark forest”, about the “open field” and rushed along the waves, silvered by the moon, shining brightly at the border of two parts of the world...”

Catholicos Khrimyan in the vicinity of Etchmiadzin. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1895

Portrait of the artist's brother Gabriel Ayvazyan. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1883

Baptism of the Armenian people. Grigor the Enlightener (IV century) Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1892

Perhaps it will be new to someone to learn that Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky was a true zealot of the Armenian apostolic church, one of the oldest, by the way, Christian churches. There was an Armenian Christian community in Feodosia, and the Synod was located in the “heart of Armenia” - the city of Etchmiadzin.

Aivazovsky's elder brother Sargis (Gabriel) became a monk, then an archbishop and an outstanding Armenian educator. For the artist himself, his religious affiliation was by no means an empty formality. About the most important events of his life, for example, about a wedding, he informed the Etchmiadzin Synod: “On August 15, 1848, I married Julia, the daughter of Jacob Greves, an Englishman-Lutheran, but he was married in the Armenian church and on the condition that my children from this marriage would also be baptized in Armenian holy font."

When family life things go wrong, Aivazovsky will have to ask for permission to dissolve the marriage there.

In 1895, a distinguished guest came to Feodosia to visit Aivazovsky - Catholicos Khrimyan, head Armenian Church. Aivazovsky took him to Old Crimea, where he erected a new one on the site of destroyed churches and even painted an altar image for it. At a gala dinner for 300 people in Feodosia, the Catholicos promised the artist: “I, Khrimyan Hayrik, with a cross in one hand and the Bible in the other, will pray for you and for my poor Armenian people.” In the same year, the inspired Aivazovsky will paint the painting “Catholicos Khrimyan in the vicinity of Etchmiadzin.”

In five years, 82-year-old Aivazovsky will be dead. His grave is in the courtyard ancient temple decorated with an inscription in Armenian: “Born mortal, left behind an immortal memory.”

Anna Nikitichna Burnazyan-Sarkizova, second wife of I.K. Aivazovsky. Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1882

It would be unfair to the reader to end our story about Aivazovsky’s paintings, where the sea is absent, with the fact of the artist’s death. Moreover, having touched on many important biographical milestones, we still didn’t talk about love.

When Aivazovsky was no less than 65 years old, he fell in love. Moreover, he fell in love like a boy - at first sight and in circumstances that were least conducive to romance. He was riding in a carriage along the streets of Feodosia and crossed paths with funeral procession, which included a beautiful young woman dressed in black. The artist believed that in his native Feodosia he knew everyone by name, but it was as if he had seen her for the first time and did not even know who she was to the deceased - daughter, sister, wife. I made inquiries: it turned out that she was a widow. 25 years. Name is Anna Sarkizova, nee Burnazyan.

The late husband left Anna an estate with a marvelous garden and great wealth for the Crimea - a source of fresh water. She is a completely wealthy, self-sufficient woman, and also 40 years younger than Aivazovsky. But when the artist, trembling and not believing in possible happiness, proposed to her, Sarkizova accepted him.

A year later, Aivazovsky confessed to a friend in a letter: “Last summer I married a lady, an Armenian widow. I had not met her before, but I had heard a lot about her good name. Now I can live calmly and happily. I haven’t lived with my first wife for 20 years and haven’t seen her for 14 years. Five years ago, the Etchmiadzin Synod and the Catholicos allowed me to divorce... Only now I was very afraid to connect my life with a woman of another nation, so as not to shed tears. This happened by God’s grace, and I sincerely thank you for your congratulations.”

They will live 17 years in love and harmony. As in his youth, Aivazovsky will write a lot and incredibly productively. And he will also have time to show his beloved the ocean: in the 10th year of marriage they will sail to America via Paris, and, according to legend, this a beautiful couple will often be the only people on the ship not susceptible to seasickness. While most of the passengers, hiding in their cabins, waited out the rolling and storm, Aivazovsky and Anna serenely admired the expanses of the sea.

After Aivazovsky’s death, Anna would become a voluntary recluse for more than 40 years (and she would live until she was 88): no guests, no interviews, much less attempts to arrange her personal life. There is something strong-willed and at the same time mysterious in the look of a woman whose face is half hidden by a gauze veil, so similar to the translucent surface of water from the seascapes of her great husband, Ivan Aivazovsky.