Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky

Christie's London, Icons, Russian Pictures, Avant-Garde Books and Works of Art, 24 April 1991, lot 111

G.Caffiero and I.Samarine, Seas, Cities and Dreams: The Paintings of Ivan Aivazovsky, London: Alexandria Press, 2000, p.224 illustrated
G.Caffiero and I.Samarine, Light, Water and Sky: The Paintings of Ivan Aivazovsky, London: Alexandria Press, 2012, p.278 illustrated

Structural Condition The canvas is lined and is securely attached to a keyed wooden stretcher. This is providing an even and stable structural support. There is an old label on a section of the original support adhered to the centre of the reverse of the cross-bars. There is a further old exhibition label on the reverse in the upper right. Paint Surface The paint surface appears to have a relatively even varnish layer. There is a very fine pattern of craquelure in some areas. This appears entirely stable and is not visually distracting. There are two very small scratches with associated minor paint loss just above the centre of the lower edge. There are some minor drip marks in the lower right of the composition. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows a discoloured and slightly opaque varnish layer. Inspection under ultra-violet light also shows some scattered retouchings, the most significant of which are two vertical areas in the upper left of the sky and an area above and to the left of this, an area within the upper part of the tree on the left of the composition and two areas within the sky above this, intermittent retouchings along the right edge, retouchings along the upper part of the left edge and within the sky in the upper left, two small areas above the lower edge and fine lines covering craquelure in the lower left corner. Other small retouchings are also visible. Summary The painting would therefore appear to be in good and stable condition and would benefit from cleaning, restoration and revarnishing including the removal and replacement of any existing restoration.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

One of the earliest large-scale depictions of Ayu Dag by Aivazovsky, this monumental painting of 1856 is among his greatest Crimean views and contains several motifs he would develop, such as the cypresses receding into the distance, grouped Tartars and winding oxen tracks. Flashes of moonlight in the running water and the oxen’s yoke punctuate the shadows in the lower left corner and a small streak of firelight is reflected in the bay at the centre of the seascape. Painted in the same year as his panorama at sunset, View of Constantinople and the Bosphorus (1856), the present work is a beautiful study of moonlight on one of the few prospects he would return to more frequently over the course of his life than the Turkish citadel.

The Crimean war drew to a close in February of 1856 and the chaos of the previous three years which had left ‘the coastal inhabitants living in fear’ as Aivazovsky wrote, was over at last. The new era of peace allowed Aivazovsky to travel to Paris the following year where he was famously awarded the Légion d’Honneur, an exceptionally prestigious award for a foreign artist. 

The present work is included in the numbered archive of the artist's work compiled by Gianni Caffiero and Ivan Samarine.