The Khanty-Mansiysk State Museum of Fine Arts has in its collection two canvases by one of the best-known seascape painters, Ivan Aivazovsky: Constantinople by Night and Early Morning at the Seashore. The theme of the daybreak, with its morning fog and emerging outlines of ships, coastal mountains and buildings, was recurrent in Aivazovsky’s art.
In his Early Morning at the Seashore the artist showed some figures in the foreground: a lad in a red shirt collecting freshwater from the source with a stone structure above it; a woman with a child walking along the shore, and there is another man in light clothes sitting right by the edge of the sea. There is a boat near the shore, with its sail down and two men inside it. There is almost no fog affecting that part of the composition.
In the background is a reflection of the sunrise on the water and two sailing boats with their sails hoisted up. In the morning shimmering light, one can only discern outlines, demonstrating Aivazovsky’s skill and detailed knowledge of the boat rigging. In the distance to the right are some looming rocks. All of the background is shown as if enveloped in a yellow-pink mist. Aivazovsky used a very fine palette in this seascape, with colours conveying harmony, serenity and tranquility.
Aivazovsky never painted from life. He did not believe the elements could be depicted as they would look different the next moment. His main genre of painting was marina: a type of scenery painting where the artist paints the events happening on the sea. Aivazovsky preferred oil, although his sea and waves seem watercolour. In his seascapes he resorted extensively to the glazing technique applying very fine, almost translucent paints layer by layer. As a result, the waves, clouds and sea in the canvases seemed transparent and live while the integrity of the painted layers held and resisted decay.
The artist painted with ease and speed and was very productive. His legacy includes about six thousand paintings, including a few battle scenes and landscapes. His most famous paintings are The Ninth Wave, Battle of Çesme, The Black Sea, Among the Waves, A Moonlight Night on the Bosphorus. He has also done many paintings which are not as well known to the general viewer, as well as sketches and marine studies. Aivazovsky was the first in Russia to sponsor his own personal exhibitions of which he had some 120 in his lifetime.
In his Early Morning at the Seashore the artist showed some figures in the foreground: a lad in a red shirt collecting freshwater from the source with a stone structure above it; a woman with a child walking along the shore, and there is another man in light clothes sitting right by the edge of the sea. There is a boat near the shore, with its sail down and two men inside it. There is almost no fog affecting that part of the composition.
In the background is a reflection of the sunrise on the water and two sailing boats with their sails hoisted up. In the morning shimmering light, one can only discern outlines, demonstrating Aivazovsky’s skill and detailed knowledge of the boat rigging. In the distance to the right are some looming rocks. All of the background is shown as if enveloped in a yellow-pink mist. Aivazovsky used a very fine palette in this seascape, with colours conveying harmony, serenity and tranquility.
Aivazovsky never painted from life. He did not believe the elements could be depicted as they would look different the next moment. His main genre of painting was marina: a type of scenery painting where the artist paints the events happening on the sea. Aivazovsky preferred oil, although his sea and waves seem watercolour. In his seascapes he resorted extensively to the glazing technique applying very fine, almost translucent paints layer by layer. As a result, the waves, clouds and sea in the canvases seemed transparent and live while the integrity of the painted layers held and resisted decay.
The artist painted with ease and speed and was very productive. His legacy includes about six thousand paintings, including a few battle scenes and landscapes. His most famous paintings are The Ninth Wave, Battle of Çesme, The Black Sea, Among the Waves, A Moonlight Night on the Bosphorus. He has also done many paintings which are not as well known to the general viewer, as well as sketches and marine studies. Aivazovsky was the first in Russia to sponsor his own personal exhibitions of which he had some 120 in his lifetime.
