The famous painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky

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

Judging by the number of various copies and reproductions that it has received during its existence, the painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky is one of the most significant in the history of Russian painting. It is difficult to find a person who would not know her. The history of this work is remarkable. Created at the beginning of an independent creative path, the painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky became one of the unconditional peaks in his work. It was far from the first, but certainly the most powerful work of a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. It was presented to the public in 1850. There were still fifty years of creativity and dozens of grandiose masterpieces ahead.

"The Ninth Wave", Ivan Aivazovsky. The plot of the picture

Depicted here are people in exceptional circumstances. They were shipwrecked and on the wreckage of the ship's mast they are balancing between life and death. The storm that sent their ship to the bottom has not subsided yet. The biggest and most terrible wave is moving on them - the legendary Ninth Wave. The wave is approaching against the backdrop of the incredible beauty of the sunset. This image is self-sufficient in itsexpressiveness. It has long become well-known and classic. Everyone can easily imagine it, having heard the name of the picture and the name of the author - "The Ninth Wave", Aivazovsky. Description in words is redundant here. It remains to silently freeze in admiration before the creation of the great master.

The painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky, some facts from its history

This grandiose canvas (its dimensions exceed three by two meters) is one of the decorations of the State Russian Museum. Its first owner was Emperor Nicholas I. The Russian monarch was not the only admirer of this masterpiece. The general public was shocked by the virtuosity of Ivan Aivazovsky. The play of light and shadow, the depth of the sky and the illusory transparency of the sea wave on the master's canvas made people at exhibitions stand in front of this canvas for long hours. The painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky remains to this day the unsurpassed pinnacle of Russian painting. According to the stylistic and genre definition, it should certainly be attributed to romanticism. It depicts people in a deadly duel and confrontation with exceptional natural circumstances. And these are the characteristic signs of this trend in art.

"The Ninth Wave" in everyday life

This work has long become a landmark for several generations of the Russian public. It is known to everyone. A visual image created in the mid-nineteenth century by the talent of IvanAivazovsky, is endlessly replicated and accompanies people from childhood to old age. The very name of this picture managed to separate from the work and become a common noun. It is used when they want to say that there is a lot of something, and you can drown in it. And people still love the picture itself. Its reproductions decorate the interiors of dwellings and offices, and are often placed on the most unexpected household items, on clothes and underwear.