Ivan Aivazovsky is one of the most heavily traded seascape artists. Born in a town of Feodosia, on the Crimean peninsula, Ivan Aivazovsky had an Armenian name — Ovannes Gaivazyan. His father used name Gaivazovsky as a nickname. The son decided to take it as a real name, but then reduced to Aivazovsky.
Ivan Aivazovsky became a student of the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, which was then the capital of Russian Empire, and began to study construction of battleships. As a result, he became a head painter of the Russian Navy and served there for many years, thus securing the possibility of limitless observing ships and military exercises in the Black Sea and the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.

The artist grew up in Feodosia by the Black Sea, and the town was one of his favorite workplaces where many masterpieces were created. The late 19th century Armenian-Russian painter Ivan Aivazovsky created some truly spectacular paintings of seascapes that capture the beautiful, shimmering essence of the tumultuous waters. The marine artist gained recognition for his impeccable ability to recreate the expressive quality of oceans with over half of his 6,000+ paintings from his lifetime being devoted to the subject.
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What separates Aivazovsky's seascape paintings from others is his ability to replicate both the intensity and motion as well as the translucency and texture. His energetic waves and calm ripples are equally effective. Aivazovsky also plays with colors, simulating the effects of sunlight filtering through the waters to present an ethereal quality that imitates a sort of magical realism. There's something absolutely stunning about the painter's ability to skillfully emulate the emotional connection to the coastal scenes that translates centuries later.
Ivan Aivazovsky works inspired many artists. To honor the great artist, Odesa History Museum gathered together the best seascapes from many contemporary artists to showcase at the «Azure Sea Shining» exhibition.
Schedule: from July, 6th 2017 till July 30th, 2017 at Odesa History Museum (24, Lanzheronska street, Odesa).
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Image source: pinterest.com