Description of the picture:
The ninth shaft is Aivazovsky. 1850. Oil on canvas. 221×332 cm
Ivan Constantinovich Aivazovski (1817-1900) – an outstanding master of the sea landscape (marina) of the middle – second half of the XIX century. Born near the sea, in Feodosia, the artist throughout his life remained faithful to his favorite element, devoting all his many years of work to it.
Created in 1850, a painting The Ninth Wave immediately became the most famous of all its marines and was acquired by Nicholas I. The famous collector P.M. Tretyakov became interested in the success of Aivazovsky, tracked his works at exhibitions and visited the painter’s workshop in Feodosia. In one of the enthusiastic letters to the artist, Tretyakov wrote: “…give me only your magical water in a way that would perfectly convey your incomparable talent! .. I really want to quickly have your picture in my collection!“.
The sea depicted after a night storm, barely taking a breath, should meet with the ninth rampart. According to legend, it was he – the apogee of storms. Surviving exhausting sailors cling to the wreckage of the mast of the ship. The sky illuminated by the dawn sun seems to promise them victory.
Such works are created in happy moments of creative enthusiasm. Following the picture, Aivazovsky wrote a series of “storms” (A ship among the stormy sea, Rainbow). They alternate with images of a calm elegiac sea, issuing in their author the last representative of the painting of the romantic era.
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