Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900)

Ivan (Hovhannes) Aivazovsky was born 17 (30) July 1817 in Feodosia. Aivazovsky ancestors in the XVIII century migrated from Western (Turkish) Armenia to the south of Poland. At the beginning of the XIX century merchant Constantine (Gevorg) Gayvazovsky moved from Poland to Feodosia. After Theodosius had befallen the plague epidemic in 1812, the family lived Gayvazovskih hard. Support the family, which had two daughters and three sons, assisted by his wife of Constantine Hripsimeh, skilful embroiderer.

Small Hovhannes showed exceptional talent for drawing and music, played the violin. He enthusiastically copied prints of books about the struggle of the Greeks against the Ottoman rule. In his declining years, he wrote: "The first picture I had seen when I raged in the fiery spark of love for painting, were lithographs depicting the exploits of the heroes in the end of the twenties, fighting the Turks for the liberation of Greece. I have since learned that empathy Greeks overthrew the Turkish yoke, expressed then all European poets Byron, Pushkin, Hugo, Lamartine ... The thought of this great country often visited me in the form of battles on land and at sea. "

Primary education Aivazovsky received the Armenian parochial school and later graduated from the Simferopol gymnasium, which it helped to identify the city architect Koch. In 1833, with the support of the mayor of Theodosia A. Kaznacheeva Aivazovsky went to St. Petersburg, and children's drawings on the submitted he was enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts in landscape painting class, Professor M. Vorobyev. Then he studied at the Battle-class in A. Sauerweid and for a short time at a guest of the French marine painter F. Tanner.

Already in 1835 for "A Study of air over the sea," he was awarded the silver medal of the second-esteem. In 1837, three marine species, and in particular for the painting "Calm" he was awarded the first gold medal and reduce the academic course of two years on condition that during this time he wrote a series of landscapes of the Crimean cities. The visit to the Crimea appeared kinds of Yalta, Feodosia, Sevastopol, Kerch and painting "Moonlit Night in Gurzufe" (1839), "The Tempest," "Sea Shore" (1840).

In 1839, Aivazovsky participated as an artist in a naval expedition to the shores of the Caucasus. On board the ship, he meets with Mikhail Lazarev, VA Kornilov, PS Nakhimov, V. Istomin, gets the chance to explore the construction of warships. Creates the first battle painting - "The landing at Subashi." There he met demoted to the ranks Decembrists MM Naryshkin, AI Odoyevsky, NN Lorer who participated in at Subashi. Crimean artist successfully exhibited at the Academy of Fine Arts, and as a reward Aivazovsky was given trip to Italy.

In 1840, Aivazovsky went to Italy. There he meets a colorful figures of Russian literature, art, science - Gogol, Alexander Ivanov, Botkin, Panaevym. At the same time, in 1841, the name changed to Gayvazovsky painter Aivazovsky.

The activity of the artist in Rome begins with studying and copying the works of past masters, he works hard nature studies. In a letter Aivazovsky said: "I'm like a bee collecting honey from the flower bed." Throughout his life, he returned to the landscapes of Italy, the harmonious coexistence of man and the sea in the country imprinted in his memory as a model of beauty. Aivazovsky created in Italy about fifty large paintings. The success of the artist brought the romantic seascapes "The Tempest," "Chaos," "Bay of Naples Moonlit Night" (1839) and others. His painting "Chaos" has acquired the Vatican Museum. Pope Gregory XVI awarded the gold medal of the artist. Recognize the talent of the artist art lovers and colleagues. Ivanov said the ability of Aivazovsky in the image of the sea, the engraver F. Jordan claims that Aivazovsky - pioneer of the genre marine painting in Rome.

In 1843, the journey begins with an exhibition of paintings by the artist in Europe. "Rome, Naples, Venice, Paris, London, Amsterdam honored me with the most flattering rewards" - recalled Aivazovsky. One of them - the title of Academician, awarded by the Academy of Arts in Amsterdam. As the sole representative of Russian art, he participated in the international exhibition held at the Louvre. Ten years later, he became the first foreign artists became a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

In 1844, two years ahead of schedule, Aivazovsky returned to Russia. On his return Petersburg Academy of Arts honors its title of Academician. Navy Department awarded him the honorary title of Chief of Naval Staff of the artist with the right to wear the uniform and the Admiralty commissioned the "extensive and complex order" - write all the Russian military ports on the Baltic Sea. During the winter months of 1844 - 1845 years. Aivazovsky executed government order and created a number of beautiful marinas.

In 1845, together with the expedition Litke Aivazovsky visited the coast of Turkey and Asia Minor. During this voyage he made a lot of drawings in pencil, he served for many years material for paintings, which he always wrote in the studio. After returning from the expedition, Aivazovsky went to Theodosius. "It's a feeling or habit, my second nature. I would gladly spend the winter in St. Petersburg - the artist wrote - but will blow a bit in the spring, I was attacked by homesickness - I'm drawn to the Crimea, the Black Sea. "

In Feodosia artist built a house on the beach studio and finally settled here. In winter, it was usually with his exhibitions in St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, sometimes traveling abroad. During his long life Aivazovsky made several trips: several trips to Italy, Paris and other European cities, working in the Caucasus, sailed to the coast of Asia Minor, was in Egypt, and at the end of life, in 1898, he made a trip to America. During sea voyages, he enriched his observations, and in his folder accumulated figures. The artist spoke of his creative method: "A man is not a gifted memory that saves the experience of nature, can be a great copiers, lively photographic apparatus, but a true artist - ever. Movement of live elements - captured by the brush: writing lightning, a gust of wind, wave splash - from nature is inconceivable. The plot is composed in my mind as the plot of the poem, the poet ... ".

Aivazovsky painting of the forties and fifties marked by the strong influence of the romantic tradition of K. Briullov had an impact on the beautiful craftsmanship of the artist. Like Brullov, he seeks to create a grand colorful paintings. Very clearly this is reflected in the battle picture "The Battle", which he wrote in 1848, dedicated to the distinguished naval battle. The battle is depicted in the night. In the depths of the bay can be seen by thousands of ships of the Turkish Navy, one of them - at the time of the explosion. On fire and smoke in the air flying wreckage of the ship, which turned into a blazing fire. In the foreground, a dark silhouette stands the flagship of the Russian Navy, which, saluting, suitable boat with the command of Lieutenant Ilyin, who blew up his fire-ship among the Turkish flotilla. On the water, you can distinguish the wreckage of the Turkish ships with groups of sailors, crying for help, and other details.

Contribution to the battle-Aivazovsky painting is significant. He captures scenes of Sevastopol defense, repeatedly appealed to the heroic deeds of the Russian Navy, "Each victory of our troops on land or at sea - the artist wrote - pleases me as a Russian at heart, and gives the idea as an artist to represent it on canvas ... ".

Aivazovsky was the last and the most prominent representative of the Romantic movement in Russian art. His best romantic works of the second half of the 40 - 50's are: "Storm on the Black Sea" (1845), "St. George's Monastery" (1846), "Entering the Sevastopol bay" (1851).

By the early period of Aivazovsky, marked the desire to convey a particular state of nature is painting "The Ninth Wave" (1850). It transferred power awakened in a person element. The sublime romantic feeling passed in the coloring - in contrast of rich dark-green waves, haze-shrouded dawn sun in shades of stormy sea foam crests.

Aivazovsky created a unique method of color-linear construction of paintings and his pictorial language, one does not repeat or contrary to the object images. These means of expression have evolved gradually, the artist's palette became brighter, it becomes more constrained in the transfer of colorful effects of nature. Aivazovsky came close to plein-air painting. He never loses interest in the maritime disaster. Consuming mass rearing, the color of which is made up of subtle transitions blue-gray tones dominate in the film "The Wave" (1889). Kramskoy wrote about the film "Black Sea" (1881): "The painting is nothing but water and sky, but the water is a limitless ocean, not violent, but waved, stern, infinite, and the sky, if possible, yet infinitely . This is one of the most ambitious paintings, what I do know. "

The artist's works