According to many biographers of Ivan Aivazovsky, not only was he a talented artist but also an amazingly lively and kind-hearted person. He took keen interest in everything around him including everyday life of his native town. Aivazovsky was born in Feodosia and loved it very much. Once he said: ‘I could live anywhere in the world but I prefer Feodosia to any other place.’ In 1845, the painter returned to Feodosia from St. Petersburg with an intention to stay forever. It was in Feodosia that he created his best paintings. His art studio graduated quite a number of painters whose oeuvre was devoted to the Crimean nature and history. And in his mature years, Aivazovsky opened in his house the first public picture gallery in Russia.
Aivazovsky engaged in various activities in his town. His initiatives included the construction of a commercial port, a water supply system, the Dzhankoy - Feodosia railroad, and archaeological excavations. Through the artist’s considerable efforts, Feodosia became a town with modern amenities and utilities. Writer and journalist Vasily Krivenko recalled that Aivazovsky “was all the time planning future improvements: the construction of a port and a railway road, laying a water line from remote springs, and forestation of mountains. People strange to Feodosia gradually and without noticing it got involved in the concerns and affairs of the town becoming reliable allies of Aivazovsky.”
The First Train in Feodosia represents the town in a moonlit night. The artist creates an interesting impression by showing just the moonlight shining on the town and ships in the port. The moon itself is outside the painting. Similarly, a train steams into the picture out of nowhere. Interestingly enough, the picture was painted before there was a railway road and a port built in Feodosia. Aivazovsky devoted considerable efforts for the railway to connect Feodosia with the rest of the world. He even allowed to lay a rail track practically next to his own house. The first trains ran from Feodosia in August 1892.
Aivazovsky engaged in various activities in his town. His initiatives included the construction of a commercial port, a water supply system, the Dzhankoy - Feodosia railroad, and archaeological excavations. Through the artist’s considerable efforts, Feodosia became a town with modern amenities and utilities. Writer and journalist Vasily Krivenko recalled that Aivazovsky “was all the time planning future improvements: the construction of a port and a railway road, laying a water line from remote springs, and forestation of mountains. People strange to Feodosia gradually and without noticing it got involved in the concerns and affairs of the town becoming reliable allies of Aivazovsky.”
The First Train in Feodosia represents the town in a moonlit night. The artist creates an interesting impression by showing just the moonlight shining on the town and ships in the port. The moon itself is outside the painting. Similarly, a train steams into the picture out of nowhere. Interestingly enough, the picture was painted before there was a railway road and a port built in Feodosia. Aivazovsky devoted considerable efforts for the railway to connect Feodosia with the rest of the world. He even allowed to lay a rail track practically next to his own house. The first trains ran from Feodosia in August 1892.
