Source: https://www.tretyakovgallerymagazine.com/articles/4-2016-53/great-seascape-artist-and-russian-imperial-family
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 02:42:11+00:00

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A favourite of three Russian rulers, Aivazovsky’s development as an artist was encouraged with royal patronage from an early age. Closely involved with members of the Romanov dynasty for more than 60 years, he both travelled with them on foreign journeys, and entertained them at his home in Crimea.
“His Majesty was always gracious and charming towards me, which was so characteristic of the way he treated artists of all kinds.” All his life Ivan Aivazovsky enjoyed the patronage of the Russian Emperors Nicholas I, Alexander II and Alexander III, as well as their family members. The Imperial family's favour nourished the young artist's natural talent, provided him with opportunities to take sea voyages to distant shores, to see what his beloved seas looked like from the deck of a ship, and to enrich his imagination through visiting foreign lands. Members of the Imperial family purchased many of Aivazovsky's paintings; today these works are in the collections of Russia's major museums.
Aivazovsky was a grammar school student in Simferopol when Countess Natalya Naryshkina, an intelligent and scholarly local aristocrat, saw his drawings. Naryshkina, who was friendly with the nobility of St. Petersburg and took an interest in the arts, approached the architect Salvatore Tonci, who in turn showed the young artist's work to Alexei Olenin, president of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Soon enough Prince Pyotr Volkonsky, who at the time served as a Minister of the Imperial Court, showed Aivazovsky's drawings to Nicholas I. “The most exalted patron of Russian arts praised the young artist's first efforts most kindly,” and on August 23 1833 Aivazovsky was admitted to professor Maxim Vorobyov's class at the Academy.
Two years later, when the French maritime artist Phillippe Tanneur came to St. Petersburg, the Russian Emperor instructed Olenin to choose one of his most talented students to study seascape-painting under the celebrated French master; Olenin picked Aivazovsky. Tanneur, however, did not find it fitting to work on refining the young artist's technique; instead, he charged his student with preparing paints and copying paintings with views of St. Petersburg. Olenin, meanwhile, was convinced that Aivazovsky was destined for great success, and suggested that he paint a seascape for the forthcoming autumn exhibition. Hardworking and responsible as ever, Aivazovsky produced a painting which he titled ‘A Study of Sea Air”, which won him the highest Silver Medal.
Soon the news about the young artist's success reached Tanneur, who thought that for a student to submit a study to an exhibition without his teacher's knowledge amounted to inexcusable disobedience. Tanneur voiced his grievance to the Emperor; Nicholas I, who took insubordination very seriously, ordered Volkonsky to have Aivazovsky's painting removed from the exhibition. The unfortunate incident became the talk of the time; the young artist began to avoid his friends and spent most of his time in his room. However, he still attended his classes, studied diligently, and worked on perfecting his painting technique. In the meanwhile, a series of new complaints regarding Tanneur's arrogant and insolent behaviour in aristocratic society reached the Russian Emperor, and in 1836 Nicholas I ordered his French guest to leave the country.
By then, many influential noblemen, some of them close to the throne, had taken pity on Aivazovsky; it was thanks to the efforts of Alexander Sauerweid, professor at the Academy of Arts, that Nicholas I eventually forgave the artist. Sauerweid, a renowned master of military painting, gave drawing lessons to the Grand Dukes and Duchesses, at which the Tsar himself would make an occasional appearance. On behalf of the Academy's professors, Sauerweid vouched for Aivazovsky's good character: after all, as a regular student who had been instructed by the Academy's president to submit a painting to an exhibition, the young man had not dared to disobey. Nicholas I demanded to see the ill-fated study; the very next day it was brought to the Winter Palace and received the Tsar's approval.
For the two young men this voyage marked the beginning of a long and close friendship. It is quite likely that the Grand Duke admired Aivazovsky's work - he included his friend's sepia studies, watercolours and drawings in the ceremonial albums alongside the works of other renowned Russian and European artists. In keeping with the Russian royal family's tradition, on the eve of 1861 Tsar Alexander II, who knew of Konstantin's interest in Aivazovsky's art, commissioned a set of china decorated with reproductions of Aivazovsky's early paintings as a New Year gift for his brother.
The voyage that the Grand Duke and the artist undertook together lasted until the autumn and proved quite educational: Litke taught them astronomy and navigation, as well as ship design and exploitation. Aivazovsky gave the Grand Duke painting lessons; as for his own work, he tried to sketch or paint something new every day and showed seven new seascapes that he had finished during the voyage at the Academy's Autumn Exhibition. The Russian Emperor purchased them all for the sum of 3,000 rubles.
The Russian Navy would later play a crucial role in Aivazovsky's life. In 1844 “His Majesty the Emperor” signed an order for ‘Academician Aivazovsky to be assigned to his Majesty's Navy Headquarters as a painter; with that, Aivazovsky has the right to wear the uniform of the Ministry of the Navy and his rank is considered honorary.” Even as a 20-year-old, the works of Aivazovsky, then still a student at the Academy, were as masterful and accomplished as those of his professors. In September 1837 his painting “Calm Sea” (current location unknown) received the Gold Medal of the 1st Degree, which earned Aivazovsky the right to work abroad. The Academy's council made the decision to let the young painter graduate two years ahead of schedule and work on his own. The council took into consideration Aivazovsky's wish to visit his birthplace, and decided to task him with “painting Russian seascapes, particularly in Russia's southern provinces, under the Academy's special patronage”. Consequently, in spring 1838 Aivazovsky received the opportunity to return to “Crimea to paint from nature, for the duration of one year from the current date, i.e. until the 1st of March 1839, when he, Aivazovsky, is to present his new works for His Majesty the Emperor's review.” Aivazovsky painted a great deal during his time in southern Crimea; the list of his works includes “Yalta” (1838, Aivazovsky Picture Gallery, Feodosia), “Seashore” (1840, Tretyakov Gallery), and many others.
Aivazovsky would depart from Crimea for his first trip to Europe. His paintings earned him the admiration of both the general public and famous artists in Rome, Venice, Naples, Paris, London and Amsterdam. When in summer 1844 the artist returned to St. Petersburg after four years abroad, Nicholas I granted him an audience and awarded him a major commission - Aivazovsky was to paint views of Russia's ports in Kronstadt, St. Petersburg, Peterhoff, Reval (now Tallinn), Sveaborg (then also known as Viapori, and now as Suomenlinna), and Gangut (now Hanko). Aivazovsky was more than enthusiastic about this commission and over the next few months he would paint several works that were subsequently acquired by the Emperor.
The sea was Aivazovsky's favourite and constant subject. By 1845 he was already familiar with the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas, so he was happy to visit the Turkish shore, Asia Minor and the Greek islands when he accompanied Grand Duke Konstantin on another voyage. They visited Constantinople, Chios, Patmos, Samos, Mytilene, Rhodes and Smyrna, as well as the ruins of ancient Troy, Sinop and many other locations. It was a momentous time in the life of the 18-year-old Grand Duke - having served as a brigantine Captain, he was getting ready to take charge of a large ship. In turn, Aivazovsky painted a huge number of studies and enriched his artistic imagination with a multitude of new experiences. These studies would provide the basis for numerous paintings in future years.
The Grand Duke loved nature and enjoyed drawing; as a result, many pages of his diary are filled with descriptions of the natural beauty that surrounded the young men during their travels: “Having left [Sarah-Eri], we went straight down to the famed Rose Valley [Gyulo-Dereh]. This place is nothing short of heaven... Its diverse landscape is spectacularly beautiful. The mountains are completely bare, of the harshest aspect, while the valley is covered with remarkably lush [vegetation]. A creek runs through the middle of the valley, with a Turkish coffee house nestled among huge trees; incredibly picturesque, they [Turkish coffee houses] are always filled with groups of Turks smoking, drinking coffee and enjoying the pleasures of leisure, or dolce far niente. Aivazovsky always finds them delightful.” In the 1870s the Sultan commissioned the artist to create a number of paintings for his Dolmabahqe Palace; to this day Aivazovsky's canvases adorn the walls of the ceremonial halls there.
In 1851 Nicholas I invited Aivazovsky to accompany him on the steamer Vladimir during its voyage to Sevastopol and attend naval exercises there. The Emperor often conversed with the artist most informally, pointing to the light patterns over the water, or a picturesque cluster of ships. Aivazovsky would write about this time: “I feasted my eyes on the ships of the Black Sea Fleet - like a family of mighty warrior heroes of Russian folk epics, at the service of His Majesty, a strikingly handsome man in his prime.” Attending such naval exercises prepared Aivazovsky for his work on the paintings depicting episodes of the Crimean War.
After the death of Nicholas I, his son Alexander II ascended the Russian throne. Aivazovsky had known him from the voyage of 1851, and the new Emperor, just like his late father, showed favour to the artist. Along with other artists, in the 1860s Aivazovsky was retained to decorate the walls of the Livadia Palace, the Imperial family's home in the Crimea. ‘Aivazovsky, who visited Livadia often, thought of painting the view of the Crimean Peninsula a vol doiseau, with several steam boats in the bay, on the wall of the Tsar's balcony by the main entrance. This wall painting showed mountain ridges, slopes, forests, harbours and populated areas; the panoramic view and the playful splashing of the Black Sea was so captivating that everyone who saw it would be caught there, as if mesmerized, for hours on end...” Additionally, Aivazovsky painted frescoes in the Grand Palace; he also accompanied the Empress Maria Alexandrovna on her voyage to Alushta in 1861, and a few days after their return he presented her with a painting depicting a scene from the trip. Aivazovsky wrote: “Both His Majesty and the Empress were exceedingly kind to me: they invited me to dinner, gave me a precious gift, and commissioned several paintings.” Archival documents confirm that the “precious gift” was “a diamond ring with Her Majesty's initials”.
Both Alexander II and his wife appeared in Aivazovsky's paintings. In 1881 he painted “Alexander II Crosses the Danube”, with the Emperor depicted sitting on board a large cutter, with his sons and several generals in attendance, as well as the Cossacks of His Majesty's guard holding the Imperial Flag. An eagle symbolizing Russia's power and glory is soaring over the boat.
by His Majesty's name, but [Vyacheslav] Plehve sent back a telegram telling us that the Emperor ordered that we use my name instead.” Naturally, Aivazovsky was flattered by the Imperial family's continuous favour and cherished the attention; sometimes it even opened up possibilities to accomplish things that he considered important, most notably in connection to his beloved Feodosia - expanding the port, bringing the railway to the city, and securing funds to build Armenian schools.
When in 1894 Alexander III died at Livadia, Aivazovsky painted an allegorical and even somewhat mystical scene: a grieving female figure dressed in mourning black (likely representing the Empress Maria Fyodorovna) is leaning over a tomb; in the background, the outline of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the late Emperor's figure are visible among thick clouds that look like rising smoke. The artist never exhibited this work - it would seem that it was too personal for that: extremely rare in Aivazovsky's oeuvre, the subject matter and genre seem to express his personal heartache over the Emperor's death. It may also be that the artist realized that the Imperial family's long and generous support of his work was coming to an end. Indeed, the new Tsar, Nicholas II, did not show the same kind of interest or attention to Aivazovsky as the great master of seascape painting had enjoyed for the previous 60 years, beginning from 1833. The times were changing, and even Russia's rulers were developing a different taste in art.
The strong interest that the Russian Imperial family showed in Aivazovsky's work was instrumental in his striking success. The artist was still a student when Nicholas I launched his career by sending him on the sea voyage with his son, Grand Duke Konstantin. Coming to know the Grand Duke, someone who could appreciate the beauty of the sea and loved Crimea, made a strong impact on the artist's life. In his turn, Aivazovsky, a favourite of three Emperors, through his art brought true beauty into the formal and rigid lives of his exalted benefactors.
‘Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky and His 42 Years in Art. 1836-1878’. In “Russkaya Starina” (Old Times in Russia). 1878. V 22. Issues 5-8. P. 444. Hereinafter - Russkaya Starina.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V. 21. Issues 1-4. P. 657.
The Diary of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. 1836// Russian State Archive. Inventory 722, file 74, folio 1.
Nikolaeva, MV ‘Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich and Aivazovsky’ // in “Lectures on the 150th Anniversary of Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich”. Research Conference Catalogue, October 15-16 2008. St. Petersburg. 2008.
Wagner L., Grigorovich N. “Aivazovsky”. Moscow. 1970. Pp. 47-50.
Memorandum by the Commander of the Navy Headquarters appointing I.K. Aivazovsky a painter for the Ministry of the Russian Navy. September 16 1844. State Russian Archives of the Russian Navy. F. 410. Inv. 1. Item 1608. P. 2.
P.M. Volkonsky’s memorandum to the Imperial Academy of Arts regarding commissioning paintings from I.K. Aivazovsky. July 1 1884 // Russian State Historical Archive. F. 789. Inv. 1, part II. Item 2870. P. 1.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V. 22. Issues 5-8. P. 444.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V 22. Issues 5-8. P. 444.
Aivazovsky’s letter to Zubov. March 16 1846. Russian State Historical Archive. F. 942. Inv. 1. Item 12. P. 3.
“Effendi” is a Turkish title of nobility, meaning “lord” or “master”. Also used as a polite form of address.
Diary of the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. 1843-1845. State Archive of the Russian Federation. F. 722. Item 81. Back of p. 139.
Dolce far niente - Italian for “pleasant idleness, the sweetness of doing nothing”.
Ibid., front and back of p. 140.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V 23. Issues 9-12. P. 58.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V 22. Issues 5-8. P. 443.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V. 23. Issues 9-12. Pp. 65-66.
Minchenkov, YD. “Remembering the Peredvizhniki”. Leningrad. 1980. P. 98.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V 23. Issues 9-12. P. 70.
Letter from I.K. Aivazovsky to A.I. Filosofov. December 2 1854. Russian State Historical Archive. F. 1075. Inv. 1. Item 129. P. 2.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V. 23. Issues 9-12. P. 71.
Melekha, E. “The Imperial Family in the Crimea”. Russkaya Starina. 1916. V 157. Issues 7-9. P. 429.
Letter from I.K. Aivazovsky to A.P. Khalibov. October 17 1861. Quoted from “I.K. Aivazovsky. Documents and Other Sources”. Yerevan. 1967. P. 134.
Academy of Art Board’s memorandum to the Ministry of the Imperial Court. January 16 1865. Russian State Historical Archive. F. 789. Inv. 14. Item 1A. P. 7-11.
Biography of the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. Volume 3 (1866-1867). Undated. Russian State Archive. F. 648. Item 18. Front and back of p. 173.
Russkaya Starina. 1878. V. 23. Issues 9-12. P. 285.
Emperor Alexander II’s edict bestowing honours on I.K. Aivazovsky. December 4 1864. Department of Manuscripts, Tretyakov Gallery. F. 29. Item 56. Back of p. 2.
Letter from I.K. Aivazovsky to G.A. Ezov. September 14 1888. Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. F. 58. D. 58. P. 138.

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