Ivan Aivazovsky

Βorn to Armenian parents in Theodosia, Crimea, in 1817, he is regarded as one of the greatest marine painters. He completed secondary school in Simferopol and, in 1833, he was admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. Under his teacher Maksim Vorobyov, he concentrated on landscape and studied the work of J.M.W. Turner. He painted views of Crimea and the ports of the Black Sea. In 1840 he settled in Rome and maintained an active exhibition schedule. He traveled widely—to Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Greece, and the United States—and toured Italy, painting Naples and Venice with a romantic sensibility.

In 1843 he received an award at the Paris Salon, and the following year he held a highly successful solo show in Amsterdam. He settled permanently in Theodosia in 1846 and established his studio there. One year later, he was appointed professor at the Saint Petersburg Academy. He became a member of the Russian Academy of Arts and collaborated with the Imperial Russian Navy, documenting its missions. In 1857 France honored him with the Légion d’honneur. He died in Theodosia in 1900.