English
Ivan Aivazovsky 1817 – 1900, Travelers in Crimea, Oil on canvas, 6,75 x 11 in
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (July 29, 1817 – May 5, 1900) was a Russian painter most famous for his seascapes, which constitute more than half of his paintings. Aivazovsky was born in the town of Feodosiya, Crimea. His talent as an artist earned him sponsorship and entry to the Simferopol gymnasium and later the St.Petersburg Academy of Arts, which he graduated with Gold medal. Earning awards for his early landscapes and seascapes, he went on painting a series of portraits of Crimean coastal towns before traveling throughout Europe. In later life, his paintings of naval scenes earned him a longstanding commission from the Russian Navy.
  In 1845 , Aivazovsky went to Istanbul upon the invitation of Sultan Abdülmecid, a city he was to travel to eight times between 1845 –1890.  During his long sojourn in Istanbul, Aivazovsky was commissioned for a number of paintings as a court painter by the Ottoman Sultans Abdülmecid, Abdulaziz and Abdulhamid, 30 of which are currently on display in the Ottoman Imperial Palace, the Dolmabahce Museum and many others at various other museums in Turkey.His works ate in Hermitage Museum and State Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg; Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; National Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art.