Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Russian, Crimean, 1817 to 1900)
Born in 1817 in the ancient Crimean town of Theodosia, young Ivan’s charcoal drawings drew the attention of the town mayor who helped the young man enroll in the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts where he would win the gold medal. Heavily influenced by the work of Karl Briullov, Aivazovsky’s works took on a romantic flair, a style that he incorporated with his love of the sea. Indeed in 1836 his instructor at the Academy took him onto the water with the Russian fleet as they conducted exercises on the Baltic Sea, an event that would shape the young artist’s life forever. After winning the gold medal he was sponsored by the Academy to continue advanced studies where he chose to sail with the fleet three more times over two summers, honing his skills as a marine artist before landing in Rome to exhibit his skills which already were winning him wide acclaim.
Information courtesy of Heritage Galleries, October 2007