Aivazovsky's paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery: list and description

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky is truly the greatest marine painter of all times and peoples. His works excite the minds and make you look at the paintings in great detail for hours. He is known and praised all over the world. Where are Aivazovsky's paintings located, and where should one go to see the master's work? Read about all this in our article.

Biography

The future Russian painter, master marine painter of Armenian origin Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky was born on July 29, 1817 in Feodosia. Being the son of an Armenian merchant, Hovhannes (Ivan) developed comprehensively from childhood, but he gave the greatest preference to drawing and playing the violin. Thanks to the good and close relationship between his father and the head of the Tauride province, Ivan was able to study at the Tauride Gymnasium in Simferopol, after which he easily entered the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. At the Academy, Ivan Aivazovsky studied landscape painting in the class of Professor Maxim Vorobyov and battle painting in the class of Professor Alexander Sauerweid.

Study at the academy was very successful and fruitful. It was there that the first seascape paintings appeared: "Study of Airover the sea", awarded a silver medal at an internal exhibition and "Calm", painted in 1837, which was awarded a gold medal of the first degree.

Given the leaps and bounds on the path to success, the Academy Council decided to graduate its best student ahead of schedule and give him the opportunity to work in Crimea on his own, and then send him abroad on a business trip.

From this moment begins the creative path of an outstanding painter who painted more than 6,000 paintings in his life.

Aivazovsky's paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery

Despite the impressive list of masterpieces, only seven of them appear in the gallery. The list of works by Aivazovsky is as follows:

1. "View of the Leander Tower in Constantinople" (1848).
2. "View of the seaside near St. Petersburg" (1835).
3. "Moonlit night on the Bosporus" (1894).
4. "Seashore" (1840).
5. "Bay of Naples in the Morning" (1893).
6. "Rainbow" (1873).
7. "Black Sea" (1881).

View of the Leander Tower in Constantinople

The picture was painted in 1848. I. K. Aivazovsky often traveled, and on the way he met interesting architectural ensembles, which were reflected in his works. The Leander Tower, also known as the Maiden's Tower, was built at the beginning of the 12th century on a small island in the Bosphorus and still illuminates the way for ships. She is alsotheir mooring place.

In the picture, the tower is illuminated by the setting sun, the rays of which, reflected from the waves, give the sea mother-of-pearl tones. In the background, as if "behind the back" of the Maiden's Tower, are the silhouettes of the buildings of the beautiful city. The tones in which the marine painter depicted the "guardian of the sea" and the surroundings give the picture a romantic mood. Aivazovsky's painting came to the Tretyakov Gallery in 1925. She immediately found her fans and admirers.

View of the seaside near St. Petersburg

Surprisingly, this 1835 painting does not focus on the sea. Here it plays a secondary role. The sea rests peacefully under a blanket of dense clouds covering the sky. In the picture, the sea waves do not rage, do not form foam, do not beat against the overhanging rocks. On the contrary, it looks very calm, soothing.

In the first plan, the artist depicted a boat. She got stuck in the sand. Old, tilted to the side, without a sail, she has served her life to the person who is sitting on board. He is just like this boat is old and sad. The boat will no longer catch a cheerful wind, will not go on a long voyage. She either perforated, or simply dried out, and now it fell to her lot to slowly "die" on this deserted shore. And somewhere in the distance, as if teasing her, the sail of the ship, which set off to conquer new seas and oceans, turns white. He still has everything ahead, and a cheerful wind helps him sail farther and farther towards new shores.

Moonlit night on the Bosphorus

Another one of Aivazovsky's paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery. The landscape was created by the master in 1894. All elements presented in the picture are applied to the canvas from memory. The artist had an incredible visual memory, which allowed him to draw all the smallest details in detail.

At the head of the picture is the sea. Aivazovsky conveyed all the charm of water in the moonlight. The moon is extraordinarily bright, full and not hidden by clouds. Somewhere not far from the shore, people are boating, and on the very shore, people are strolling through the evening Istanbul. Despite the dark expanse of water, the picture depicts, rather, late evening, rather than night. The sky has not yet had time to turn into dark colors, which means that the sun has not yet completely set, and the moon has already taken its throne.

The picture looks so real that the viewer is slowly immersed in this warm and beautiful night. I want, just like these people on the shore, to fall into serenity and just walk.

Seashore

Written by a 23-year-old marine painter in 1840. Aivazovsky's painting "Sea Coast" was painted in the painter's homeland - in the Crimea. There is nothing more eye-catching than the sea showing its character. And the waves have not yet begun to rage. They seem to be just "warming up" to turn into a storm. Particularly interesting in this picture is the smooth transition of the light surface of the sea into an almost dark one. This is due to the fact that a little further from the coast, lead clouds begin tothicken. In some places, the rays of the sun can no longer reach the sea surface - a storm is approaching.

Looking at the picture, the viewer, like the character depicted on it, is on the very shore. His gaze opens to losing strength waves, which, reaching the shore, break into millions of small splashes.

Gulf of Naples in the morning

Another painting by Aivazovsky in the Tretyakov Gallery. This creation of the artist's hand refers to the period when he was on a business trip in Italy. At that time, he painted about 50 seascapes.

In this work, Ivan Konstantinovich managed to fully convey the serenity of the Neapolitan morning. The landscape is depicted in soft colors. Behind the smoking volcano Vesuvius, the first rays of the rising sun are visible. The sea is calm and beautiful. Above it, the outlines of a crescent moon barely glimmer, which transfers power into the hands of the sun. In the foreground are fishermen in their boats. They have their backs to the sun, making their silhouettes slightly blurry, but still alive.

The work is a bit like Aivazovsky's painting "Moonlight Night on Capri", which is not shown in the gallery. This is not surprising, because the artist, inspired by the landscapes of Naples, created a large number of works of art in that place.

Rainbow

Each work of a marine painter is imbued with romanticism. It is present even in the image of the storm. Aivazovsky in this picture conveyed all the horror and all the beauty of a huge wave,that covered the horizon. It is also clearly seen how sailors, fleeing a shipwreck, risk forever remaining in the abyss of the waves of a storm that has broken out. However, in this landscape, the leading role is played not by them, but by the rainbow. This is an amazing natural phenomenon that manifests itself in the play of light. The rainbow seems to be the only bright moment in the sailors' situation. She colors the deadly seawater splashes with amazingly beautiful colors.

The picture is so realistic that the viewer almost becomes a participant in the events. When you stand in front of this work by Aivazovsky, you want to have time to get as much air as possible before the waves hit the boat - and the viewer. The ship, abandoned by the crew, is close to capsizing and disappearing into the abyss of raging waves. Everything seems to be over soon. And after that, the clouds will disperse and peace will be established on the sea, where the rainbow will continue to shine.

Black Sea

The painting was painted in 1881 and then acquired by the creator of the gallery. At the head of the picture is the element itself. It is felt that a storm is about to begin, as the clouds are already thickening, and the crests of the waves are noticeably growing. The canvas palette itself is unusually rich. It contains harmless green shades, reminiscent of past calm, and a piece of blue sky that remembers serenity, and blackening waves closer to the horizon, symbolizing the inevitability of the elements that have played out. The sky and the wave are harmoniously combined with each other, striving to become one. The absence of man only gives the creations of nature additionalindependence - they seem alive and omnipotent. Somewhere in the distance you can see a lone ship. He is tiny and helpless in front of the sea, which can swallow him up in a split second. This once again testifies to the insignificance of the elements and at the same time speaks of the courage of the sailors. It manifests itself in a thirst for wandering, despite the bad weather.

Ivan Konstantinovich masterfully conveyed the nature of things. The picture inspires, the picture lives and makes the viewer live. It seems to hint at the fact that we breathe while a storm boils inside us. She calls for an understanding of our insignificance, but at the same time hints that we should not be afraid to swim against the current.

CV

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky made a huge contribution to the development of painting. His creations excite the imagination, and his craftsmanship is recognized throughout the world. He is a unique marine painter who managed to convey all the power and beauty of water in his paintings. Aivazovsky made me take a fresh look at the sea and was able to convey all the sensations of what he himself managed to see.

His paintings were purchased not only by rich people, but also by high-ranking officials, including Nicholas I, King of Naples Ferdinand II Charles, Pope Gregory XVI. Recognized as a masterpiece, the painting "Chaos" not only shocked the imagination of the brine, but also replenished the collection of rare paintings of the Vatican. It is still kept there today.

For Aivazovsky, time is not scary. His creations will excite the imagination for more than one hundred years. He revealed to the world a new wonder of the world, thanks to which true connoisseurs of art could tastecharms of the "Aivazovsky sea".