I.K. Aivazovsky - an outstanding Russian artist, marine painter, collector, philanthropist. His canvases are rightfully considered masterpieces, and the author himself is famous not only in Russia but also abroad. The artist was a member of several European academies, which is the best proof of the recognition of his work abroad.
general description of work
At the beginning of his career as an artist, Aivazovsky was heavily influenced by the famous Russian romantic painter Konstantin P. Bryullov. The paintings of the latter made such a strong impression on the young and novice master that at first he simply imitated him.
“Chesmensky battle” - a picture of Aivazovsky, whose creation history is closely connected with the early stage of his work, is the best confirmation of this. In this monumental and large-scale painting, the painter embodied the best principles of his teacher: the courage and grandeur of the design, the brightness and liveliness of the image, the sublime style of the images. Following the principles of romanticism, the author did not skimp on dramatic colors.
Features of the canvas
Aivazovsky’s painting “Chesme Battle” demonstrates the best achievements of painting in the genre of romanticism. The fact is that at this time a young and talented artist created under the influence of the era. In order to emphasize the majesty of the victory of the Russian fleet, he even went on some deviations from historical reality, somewhat shifting the position of the ships. The artist primarily focused on the image of the fire, which, despite the tragic situation, gives the canvas a major tone.
Aivazovsky’s painting “The Chesme Battle” is one of the author’s first major works in the genre of marine battle painting. The artist did not set out to reproduce the picture of the battle with documentary accuracy, because before him this one had already been made by the German painter J.F. Hackert by special order of Catherine II. This author drew the arrangement of all the ships and fleets of the warring parties in a strict order, based on documentary evidence, memoirs, and data from ship's magazines.
Therefore, Aivazovsky decided to move somewhat away from the realities of the event. Based on the work of his predecessor and carefully working with documentary materials, he created his own original canvas, which glorified the victory of the Russian fleet. It was quite in the spirit of his time, when the romantic trend in Russian art was dominant.
Historical plot
One of the main battles of the Russo-Turkish war was the Chesme battle. Aivazovsky, whose painting is dedicated to this important event of the 18th century, chose it as his object for his canvas for two reasons. Firstly, this victory clearly demonstrated the increased power of the Russian fleet, and secondly, there were many documents, memoirs, and most importantly - a similar work by a German artist already existed, which influenced the author.
In addition, this battle resonated in Russian society. The famous dispatch of Count Orlov, in which he reported on the victory, went hand in hand. Of course, such a historical fact could not fail to attract the attention of such a famous marine painter as Aivazovsky, who was an artist at the Main Naval Headquarters.
Description
Aivazovsky’s painting “Chesme Battle” was painted in 1848. As already mentioned above, this was an early period in the artist's work. The main element of the work is a fire, which gives the impression of a terrible, but at the same time spectacular firework. The artist deliberately made the outlines of the ships somewhat vague so that the viewer would not be distracted from the main idea of the work. All attention should have been focused precisely on this powerful fiery stream, which soars up.
As you know, representatives of romanticism very often played in contrasts, thereby thereby further enhancing the impression of what was happening. Aivazovsky was no exception. In contrast to the blazing sea, which seems to merge with the night sky, a light yellow moon peeks out from behind the clouds. She throws dim rays down. They slightly shade the brightness of a terrible battle. Aivazovsky’s painting “Chesme Battle” depicts in the background the figures of people who, obviously, were thrown by a shock wave overboard the ships at sea. The dramatism of what is happening is intensifying: the viewer, looking at the picture, understands that they cannot do without help, and yet it will be very difficult for them to get this help because of the disaster.
The value of the picture in the artist
“Chesmensky fight” - a picture of Aivazovsky, the description of which this article was devoted to, occupies a prominent place in the gallery of his paintings. It is, as it were, an intermediate link between his romantic hobbies and the transition to monumental battle painting. It outlined the principles of the image of naval battles: colorful reproduction of the battle, special attention to the image of the water surface, which merges with the sky, as well as the use of bright, saturated colors.