Circle of Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, 1817-1900

Ivan Aivazovsky achieved immense popularity during his lifetime. Tsars and wealthy patrons  were freely able to purchase his seascapes, however, for many more modest collectors, the price was simply beyond their means and naturally the demand for fine marine pictures painted in the manner of Aivazovsky was high.

The skilled brushwork and sensitivity to light suggests that the offered work was undoubtedly executed by an artist very close to Ivan Aivazovsky, possibly Adolf Ivanovich Fessler (1826-1855). Fessler was Aivazovsky’s most talented student and assistant, becoming famous in his own right as a marine artist and producing some of the best copies of his teacher’s work. A measure of Aivasovsky’s trust in Fessler is that he was regularly asked to organise Aivazovsky’s exhibitions, often receiving up to thirty percent of the profits from pictures sold.

The composition, materials and palette of rose pinks and blues recall Fessler’s work from the 1860s.