(art article)

Ivan Aivazovsky is a Ukrainian of Armenian origin, whom Russia has tried to appropriate for centuries. Aivazovsky is an incredible marine artist, but he also has many other paintings not related to the sea — here are a few examples.

‘Fire in Moscow in 1812’ is a canvas that depicts Moscow burning in yellow and blue colors after the retreat of the Russian army. The openly anti-Russian canvas which the artist presented to Emperor Nicholas I, he recreated the architecture from memory, and with photographic accuracy, and the Csar loved it.

Aivazovsky had many more positive paintings depicting Moscow, but he chose this one as a gift, and there are two theories as to why: first, because supposedly, during the reign of Nicholas this was no longer possible, or second, and more likely, that it was a mockery of Russian greatness, because it is believed that the Muscovites themselves set the fire on the orders of Stopchin, destroying their own ancient capital with hundreds of temples

This painting was hidden from human eyes in the Kremlin basements for over a century and a half, and was only seen at an exhibition a few years ago.

Unfortunately, ‘Wedding in Ukraine’ has not been properly preserved and has numerous blurs, but, despite this, it is still incredible. It uses Ukrainian traditional clothing and a red flag on a stick, which are traditional markers of a Ukrainian wedding, which can be found in a lot of works by Ukrainian artists of the 19th century, when this theme was super popular.

‘Return from the Wedding’ is his genre work in the style of Symonenko. The painting has a playful mood, but is still filled with Ukrainian markers: in the background there is a hut with a thatched roof and a crowd near it, and on the other side there is a traditional mill.

So there are many works in Aivazovsky’s oeuvre that are worth paying attention to. And in general, it is important to study the history of painting by each artist.