By Ivan K. Aivazovsky (1817-1900), Sailing ships

Oil on board. Dimensions: 23 x 34 cm (with frame)
On the back handwritten: Sailing ships according to / Aivazovsky, Elzb. Bogachevich

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky - an outstanding painter, marine artist was one of the most famous Russian artists of the 19th century.

He came from an Armenian family. From 1833 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, receiving a small gold medal in 1836 and a large gold medal in 1837 for his marine compositions. In 1838 he stayed in the Crimea as a scholarship student of the Academy, and in 1841-1844 he was on scholarship in Italy.

In Rome at that time he met the famous English marineist J. M. W. Turner. He was in Malta, traveled to Portugal, Spain, France, England, the Netherlands. After returning to Russia in 1844, he received the title of academician. In 1847 he became a professor at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. He was also a member of several European academies; in Rome, Florence, Stuttgart, Amsterdam.

In 1853-1856, during the Crimean War, he stayed in besieged Sevastopol. In later years he continued to travel extensively in Russia, was in Egypt, and in 1892 even in North America.

He exhibited a great deal both at home and abroad, including Rome, Naples, Venice, Florence, Amsterdam, London, Stuttgart, Berlin, New York, Chicago, Washington.

He painted primarily marine compositions but also genre scenes and landscapes. There is a museum dedicated to him in Theodosia; his paintings are in many Russian museums, as well as in Polish museum collections.