Ivan Aivazovsky

Who was Ivan Aivazovsky?

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky was a Russian Romantic painter, one of the greatest marine artists in history.

Baptized as Hovhannes Aivazian, Aivazovsky was born into an Armenian family in the Black Sea port of Feodosia. He was mostly based in his native Crimea. Following the study at the Imperial Academy of Arts, he traveled to Europe and shortly lived in Italy in the early 1840s. He later returned to Russia and was appointed the main painter of the Russian Navy. Aivazovsky had close ties with the military and political elite of the Russian Empire and often attended military maneuvers. He was sponsored by the imperial family and was highly regarded during his lifetime. The winged word "worthy of Aivazovsky's brush", popularized by Anton Chekhov, was used in Russia in "describing something ineffably lovely." One of the most prominent Russian artists of his time, Aivazovsky was also one of the few Russian artists who rose to prominence outside Russia. He held numerous solo exhibitions in Europe and the United States.

During his almost sixty-year career, he created around 6,000 paintings, making him one of the most prolific artists of his time. The vast majority of his works are seascapes, but he often depicted battle scenes and also produced a number of paintings on biblical and Armenian themes and some portraits. Most of Aivazovsky's artworks are now kept in Russian, Ukrainian and Armenian museums and private collections.