Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Feodosija 1817 - Feodosija
1900) signed and dated ‘Aivasovsky 1856’ (lower right) pencil
and gouache on paper 23 x 32.7 cm (9 x 12⅞ in) Expertise:
Grabar-Institutes Moscow, 22nd February 2005, No. 261-EK-149-05.
A Strong Wind (1874) and Shipwreck (1856) both reflect Ivan
Konstantinovich Aivazovsky’s remarkable ability to capture the
changing moods of the sea. Aivazovsky’s truth to nature amazed
his contemporaries, particularly his ability to convey the
effect of moving water and of reflected sun and moonlight. It
was this accurate, but at the same time, highly charged and
dramatic portrayal of the sea which brought the artist his great
success. Aivazovsky’s work is famous for the depiction of water
in all states and in these two works he shows nature as powerful
and threatening. In A Strong Wind the scene is one of violence,
of the potential power and danger of the sea. Despite the
apparent calm of the water, the darkened sky and faint outline
of the ship foretells a storm. A