Ivan Aivazovsky

The painter Ivan (Hovhannes) Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Gaivazovsky, Haivazian), born on 17 (29) July 1817 and died on 19 April (2 May) 1900, requires little introduction. Few masters in the history of Russian art have resonated as deeply with such diverse audiences — the lay viewer, the sophisticated connoisseur, and the art professional.

Aivazovsky’s paintings are highly prized and prestigious additions to any private or public collection. The State Russian Museum holds one of the most significant collections of his work, comprising 54 masterpieces.

The exhibition Ivan Aivazovsky features 120 paintings from the collection of the Russian Museum, as well as from the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Peterhof State Museum and Reserve, the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and Reserve, the Pavlovsk State Museum and Reserve, the Central Naval Museum, the National Pushkin Museum, other leading museums in Russia, and the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus. The display also includes over 30 graphic works — predominantly from the Russian Museum’s own holdings, alongside naval artefacts that lend a distinctive atmosphere to the paintings, and porcelain decorated with reproductions of Aivazovsky’s canvases and marine motifs. Objects of this nature frequently accompanied exhibitions held during the artist’s lifetime.