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Hovhannes Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky
(Jul.29,1817 Crimea - May 5,1900 Crimea) Armenian-Russian Oil Painting Artist Biography.
Ivan Aivazovsky was born in the family of a merchant of Armenian origin in the town of Feodosia, Crimea. His father operated a small store in Theodosia and his mother was employed in the lace and embroidery industry. Both worked diligently in order to support their five children.
The Governor of Theodosia recognized the artistic talent of young Hovhannes and helped him enter high school in Simferopol and in 1833 St. Petersburg Academy of Art where he studied. In the autumn of 1836 Aivazovsky presented 5 marine seascape oil paintings to the Academic exhibition. In 1837,at the age of 20, Aivazovsky received the Major Gold Medal for his oil paintings, which allowed him to go on a long study trip abroad. However the artist first went to the Crimea to perfect himself in his chosen genre by painting the sea and views of Crimean coastal towns. During the period of 1840-1844 Aivazovsky, spent time in Italy, traveled to Germany, France, Spain and Holland. He worked much and had many exhibitions, meeting everywhere with success. He painted a lot of marine seascapes, which became very popular in Italy. His works were highly appreciated by J.M. William Turner a prominent English landscape and marine painter, described him as a genius and Eugene Delacroix spoke of him with great respect.
In the course of his work, Ivan Aivazovsky evolved his own method of depicting the motion of the sea, from memory, without preliminary sketches, limiting himself to rough pencil outlines. Aivazovsky’s phenomenal memory and romantic imagination allowed him to do all this with incomparable brilliance. The development of this new method reflected the spirit of the age, when the ever-increasing romantic tendencies put an artist's imagination to the front. In 1844 the artist returned to St. Petersburg, he was awarded the title of Academician and became attached to the Russian General Naval Headquarters. This allowed him to travel much with the Russian fleet expeditions on different missions, he visited Turkey, Greece, Egypt and America. From 1846 to 1848 he painted several oil canvases with naval warfare as the subject, the hand painted canvas naval art oil paintings portrayed historical battles of the Russian Fleet.
Neither financial security nor life in a palace interested him. He returns to his native land, built a workplace/home on the seashore and until the last days of his life, dedicates himself to the work that he loves. He participates in exhibitions all over the world. Aivazovsky got good commissions and became rich. He spent much money for charity, especially for his native town, he opened in Feodosia the First School of Arts in 1865, then the Art Gallery in 1889. He was a member of Academies of Stuttgart, Florence, Rome and Amsterdam.
Towards the 1850s the romantic features in Ivan Aivazovsky’s work became increasingly pronounced. This can be seen quite clearly in one of his best and most famous oil paintings The Ninth Wave (1850) and also in Moonlit Night (1849) and Storm (1854). The process, which determined the development of Russian art in the second half of the 19th century, also affected Aivazovsky. A new and consistently realistic tendency appeared in his work, although the romantic features still remained. Important oil paintings of the late years are Shipwreck (1876), The Mary Caught in a Storm (1892).Always true to his motto, "For me, to live means to work," Aivazovsky created around 6,000 paintings. His house in his native town was turned into a museum dedicated to his memory even during his lifetime.
After the Russo-Persian war, in the beginning of he second quarter of the 19th century, eastern Armenia came under Russian rule. Western Armenia was still under Turkish rule. Following the massacres of the Armenians in Turkey, many refugees came to Theodosia, where Aivazovsky provided shelter and food, and helped families relocate. So incensed was he with the treatment of the Armenians in Turkey that he painted a series of oil paintings condemning the massacres, which were exhibited in Moscow. He threw into the sea the medal that the Sultan had given him years before.
One of the greatest seascape marine painters of all time, Hovhannes Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky conveyed the movement of the waves, the transparent water, the dialogue between sea and sky with virtuoso skill. The artist also often turned to themes from Armenian and Russian history. The concept of light is all important to Aivazovsky. The perceptive viewer will observe that while painting the waves, clouds or sky space, the artist's emphasis is on the light.
Aivazovsky is the most interesting phenomenon of 19th century art. He gained international fame at the age of 25, was elected a member to five European Academies and was awarded the medal of the French Legion of Honor. Aivazovsky's name is intricately bound with the sea. Perhaps no one in Europe has painted the extraordinary beauty of the sea with so much feeling and expressiveness as he has. In accordance with his wishes, Aivazovsky was buried in the courtyard of the St. Sarkis Armenian Church in Theodosia. The inscription on his tombstone, in Armenian and Russian reads: "He was born a mortal, left an immortal legacy". He is truly one of the worlds artist.
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