Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, ARTORM, 1886

12.0 x 18.0cm - watercolor, gouache, paper signed p.d.: A.

On passe-partout author's dedication: Ивану Артемьевичу | Эзову | въ знакъ глубокого | уваженiя, отъ | И. Айвазовск. | 1886

[To Ivan Artemyevich Ezov as a sign of deep respect from I. Aivazovsk.]

Reproduced on the reverse: Глубокоуважаемому | Ивану Артемьевичу | Эзову | И. Айвазовскiй [the signature tail goes into the palette, where the date 1886 is placed] [To the highly esteemed Ivan Artemyevich Ezov I. Aivazovsky].



Attached to the painting is an opinion by Agnes Pospishil dated February 2023.



Provenance:

The painting comes from the collection of Wladyslaw Shaniawski (1891-1975) - Dr. of philosophy and natural sciences. Szaniawski worked as an associate professor at the University of Warsaw until the end of his life. His interests included mountaineering, photography and hunting.



The date of the painting coincides with the 50th anniversary of the artist's creative work, which was celebrated in 1886 and 1887.



The depiction of the motif of a shipwreck amid the rough waves of the Black or Azov Sea was one of the leitmotifs of Aivazovsky's work, repeated by him in various formats, configurations and techniques. It is a sailing or steam ship, with or without castaways, on the high seas or by the rocks, painted both in oil and gouache. These works, due to their dramatic yet romantic depiction of the scene, were very popular. The offered Storm is a typical composition of the artist. Similar depictions are presented in such paintings as Sea Disaster of 1884 (Sotheby's, April 21, 2005), Wave of 1886 (Musee des Beaux-Arts, Brest) Ship amidst rough sea of 1887 (Hermitage), Ship at sea under cloudy sky of 1888 (Sotheby's, December 15, 1993). The miniature format was often a gift, as in the case of a similar painting depicting a ship from the 1890s, from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, which was a gift to the interpreter. This may also have been the case with the offered Storm, which the author dedicated to Ivan Artemyevich Ezov, who was a dermatologist-venereologist.

Ivan Artemyevich Ezov (Owanes (Ioanes, Ioannes) Arutiunovich Yezjan) (1845-1907) was the son of Armenian merchant Artemy Ezov (Artiun Avetov Yezjan). His mother was from the famous Kistov (Kistjan) merchant family of Nakhichevan. He graduated from the Imperial Medical and Surgical Academy in St. Petersburg in 1868. He worked at the Ministry of the Interior, where he was quickly promoted. He was later employed as a military doctor and head physician at the Nikolaev Military Lazaret in St. Petersburg (1890-1906). He was awarded the Order of St. Anne 3rd class in 1893, and the Order of St. Stanislav 2nd class in 1902. Ivan's older brother was the famous orientalist and social and political activist of the Armenian diaspora, Gierasim (Karapet) Ezov (1835-1905), who was an acquaintance of Ivan Aivazovsky (their extensive correspondence of more than 20 years has been preserved).

According to Agnieszka Pospiszil

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky - an outstanding painter-mariner was one of the most famous Russian artists of the 19th century.
He came from an Armenian family. From 1833 he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, receiving a small gold medal in 1836 and a large gold medal in 1837 for his marine compositions. In 1838 he stayed in the Crimea as a scholarship student of the Academy, and in 1841-1844 he was on scholarship in Italy.
In Rome at that time he met the famous English marineist J. M. W. Turner. He was in Malta, traveled to Portugal, Spain, France, England, the Netherlands. After returning to Russia in 1844, he received the title of academician. In 1847 he became a professor at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He was also a member of several European academies; in Rome, Florence, Stuttgart, Amsterdam.
In 1853-1856, during the Crimean War, he stayed in besieged Sevastopol. In later years he continued to travel extensively in Russia, was in Egypt, and in 1892 even in North America. He exhibited a great deal both at home and abroad, including Rome, Naples, Venice, Florence, Amsterdam, London, Stuttgart, Berlin, New York, Chicago, Washington.
He painted mainly marine compositions but also genre scenes and landscapes. There is a museum dedicated to him in Theodosia; his paintings are in many Russian museums, as well as in Polish museum collections.