Judging by the number of various copies and reproductions that she was honored with during her existence, the painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky is one of the most significant in the history of Russian painting. It is difficult to find a person to whom she was not known. The history of this work is remarkable. Created at the beginning of an independent career, the picture Aivazovsky’s "Ninth Wave" has become one of the unconditional peaks in his work. This was far from the first, but certainly the most powerful work of a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. It was introduced to the public in 1850. Ahead was still fifty years of creativity and dozens of grandiose masterpieces.
The Ninth Wave, Ivan Aivazovsky. The plot of the picture
It depicts people in exceptional circumstances. They were shipwrecked and on the wreckage of the mast of the ship balance between life and death. The storm that sent their ship to the bottom has not yet subsided. The biggest and most terrible wave moves on them - the legendary Ninth Wave. The wave is approaching against the backdrop of the implausible beauty of a sunny sunset. This image is self-sufficient in its expressiveness. It has long become well-known and classic. Everyone can easily imagine it, having heard the name of the picture and the surname of the author - "The Ninth Wave", Aivazovsky. The description in words is unnecessary. It remains silently froze in admiration for the creation of the great master.
The painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky, some facts from her story
This grand canvas (its dimensions exceed three by two meters) is one of the decorations of the State Russian Museum. Its first owner was Emperor Nicholas the First. The Russian monarch was not the only fan of this masterpiece. The general public was shocked by the masterly skill of Ivan Aivazovsky. The play of light and shadow, the depth of the sky and the illusory transparency of the sea wave on the canvas of the master made people at exhibitions for long hours standing in front of this canvas. The painting "The Ninth Wave" by Aivazovsky remains to this day an unsurpassed pinnacle of Russian painting. According to the stylistic and genre definition, it certainly should be attributed to romanticism. It depicts people in a deadly duel and confrontation with exceptional natural circumstances. And these are characteristic signs of a similar direction in art.
"Ninth rampart" in everyday life
This work has long been a landmark for several generations of the Russian public. It is known to all. The visual image created in the mid-nineteenth century by the talent of Ivan Aivazovsky is endlessly replicated and accompanies people from childhood to old age. The very name of this painting managed to separate from the work and become a household designation. They use it when they want to say that there is a lot of something, and one can drown in it. And the people still love the picture itself. Her reproductions adorn the interiors of homes and offices, and are often placed on the most unexpected household items, on clothes and underwear.