Ivan Aivazovsky

Ivan Aivazovsky, The Survivors, 47.5 x 64 cm

detail

Aivazovsky was a master of atmosphere. To see more works by this Armenian/Russian artist click on his name in labels.

Ivan Aivazovsky - Armenian/Russian 1817-1900

The beauty of this work lies in the union of simplicity and complexity. The subject is really just waves (the ship and sky are almost lost) but their structure is rendered with intricate, realistic detail. Simplicity of subject matter alows the artist to concentrate on the abstract qualities of the painting.

Aivazovsky was born to an Armenian family in the Crimea (the family Russianised their name). He was renowned as a master painter of vast seascapes and tempests, Romantic subjects very much in fashion in his time. Delacroix spoke of him with reverence, and Turner considered him a genuis. Aivazovsky's depiction of mariners struggling for survival in turbulent seas has been read as symbolic of the struggle of the Armenian people, caught between warring powers, to maintain their identity.

Hermitage Museum

Works from the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg:

Ivan Aivazovsky
Kaspar Friedrich
Hendrik Sorgh (detail)
Simon de Vlieger
Rockwell Kent

Atmosphere

This depiction of a rocky coast in moonlight, by an unknown Russian artist, is in the tradition of romantic painters such as Aivazovsky. Not only is it full of drama and mystery, but it's beautifully composed.

Sergey Koval

Sergey Koval (b. 1960) is a Russian painter who specialises in seascapes. He studied the painting theory and techniques of the Dutch, Flemish and Italian old masters, in particular glazing, a technique in which transparent layers of oil paint are built up to produce depth and brilliance. As part of his academic training he made copies of the works of Aivazovsky, the luminary painter of seascapes, for Russian museums.

"The painter's world outlook and attitude was influenced greatly by the Chinese philosophy of arts. 'When you paint a tree you have to feel how it grows'. These words of Su Shi represent Sergey Koval’s artistic credo. Natural elements, with all their intrinsic dynamics, live in his soul. Koval writes: 'Be a sun or a sun ray for a while, feel as if you were touching rocks or sails softly, vibrating and sparkling on the water surface. Try to imagine as if you were water. Imagine that you are a stone that is being stroked and caressed by waves for a thousand years'."

Obscurity and Distinctness

Icebergs

Poseidon's Sea Journey
Exploding Ship

The Survivors

Amidst the Waves

Odessa

Aivazovsky created a mood of mystery and grandeur by leaving some areas of the painting obscured in mist or shadow. He knew where to add detail, and where to leave it out; where to be crisp, and where to be vague.

Aivazovsky - Armenian Russian

Amid the Waves

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky - Armenian/Russian

A Ship at Sea, 92.5 x 72.5 cm

Ivan Aivazovski (1817-1900) Armenian

Exhibition catalogue


The Wave



Orage


Amid the Waves

Aivazovsky (Aivazovski) was a master painter of tempests.