The small Turkish port city of Sinop lies on the narrow isthmus of the Bostepe-Burun peninsula on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It has an excellent harbor, which is especially important because along this coast of the large Anatolian (Asia Minor) peninsula there is no other such convenient and calm bay. At Sinop on November 18 (30), 1853, the main naval battle of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 took place.
After Russia declared war on Turkey (1853), Vice Admiral Nakhimov with the ships "Empress Maria", "Chesma" and "Rostislav" was sent by the head of all Russian troops in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to cruise to the shores of Anatolia. Passing near Sinop, Nakhimov saw a detachment of Turkish ships in the bay under the protection of coastal batteries and decided to closely block the port in order to attack the enemy with the arrival of the Svyatoslav and Brave ships from Sevastopol. The weather was gloomy, rainy, with a fresh easterly wind and rather strong seas from the northeast. Despite this, the squadron kept very close to the coast, so as not to allow the Turks to leave Sinop at night for Constantinople (Istanbul).
On November 16, the squadron of Rear Admiral Novosilsky (120-gun ships "Paris", " Grand Duke Constantine" and "Three Saints", frigates "Cahul" and "Kulevchi"). The next day, Nakhimov invited the commanders of the ships to the flagship ("Empress Maria") and told them the plan for the upcoming battle with the enemy fleet. It was decided to attack with two columns: in the 1st, closest to the enemy, the ships of the Nakhimov detachment, in the 2nd - Novosilsky; the frigates, on the other hand, had to watch the enemy ships under sail. Anchors were ordered to be thrown with springs (cables that make it easier to keep the ship in a given position) as close as possible to the enemy, having verps and cables at the ready. Consular houses and the city of Sinop itself were supposed to be spared, hitting only ships and batteries.
Sinop battle in 1853. Plan
On the morning of November 18, 1853, it rained with a gusty wind from the east-south-east, the most unfavorable for the capture of enemy ships (broken, they could easily be thrown ashore). At half past ten in the morning, holding the rowboats at the sides of the ships, the Russian squadron headed for the raid. In the depths of the Sinop Bay, 7 Turkish frigates and 3 corvettes were located moon-shaped, under the cover of 4 batteries (one with 8 guns, three with 6 guns each); behind the battle line were 2 steamships and 2 transports.
At half past one in the afternoon, on the first shot from the 44-gun frigate "Aunni-Allah", fire was opened on the Russians from all enemy ships and batteries. The ship "Empress Maria" was bombarded with cannonballs and knipels (shells for destroying masts and sails). Most of his spars (sail control devices) and standing rigging were broken, only 1 guy remained intact at the main mast. However, this ship moved forward without stopping and, acting as a battle fire on enemy ships, anchored against the frigate "Aunni-Allah". Unable to withstand even a half-hour battle, he threw himself ashore. Then our flagship turned its fire exclusively on the 44-gun frigate Fazli-Allah, which soon caught fire and also landed on land.
Sinop battle. Painting by I. Aivazovsky, 1853
After this action of the ship "Empress Maria" in Sinop battle concentrated on battery No. 5. The ship Grand Duke Konstantin, anchoring, opened heavy fire on battery No. 4 and the 60-gun frigates Navek-Bakhri and Nesimi-Zefer. The first was blown up 20 minutes after the opening of fire, showering debris and bodies on battery No. 4, which then almost ceased to function. The second one was thrown ashore by the wind when its anchor chain was broken. The ship "Chesma" blew away batteries No. 4 and 3 with its shots. The ship "Paris", while at anchor, directed battle fire at battery No. 5, the corvette "Gyuli-Sefid" (22-gun) and the frigate "Damiad" (56- cannon). Blowing up the corvette into the air and throwing the frigate ashore, he began to hit the 64-gun frigate "Nizamie", the fore and mizzen masts of the latter were shot down, and the ship itself drifted to the shore, where it soon caught fire. Then "Paris" again began to fire at battery No. 5. Nakhimov, delighted with the actions of this ship, ordered to express his gratitude to him right during the battle, but there was nothing to raise the corresponding signal: all the halyards were killed. The ship "Three Saints" entered the fight with the frigates "Kaidi-Zefer" (54-gun) and "Nizamiye". With the first shots of the Turks at the "Three Hierarchs" the spring was interrupted. Turning to the wind, this Russian ship was subjected to well-aimed longitudinal fire from battery No. 6, from which its mast was badly damaged. But, turning the stern again, the "Three Saints" began to act very successfully on the "Kaidi-Zefer" and other enemy ships, forcing them to rush to the shore. The ship "Rostislav", having concentrated fire on battery No. 6 and the 24-gun corvette "Feyze-Meabud", threw the corvette ashore.
At half past two in the afternoon, the Russian steamship-frigate "Odessa" appeared from behind the cape, under the flag of Admiral General Kornilov, accompanied by the ships "Crimea" and "Khersonesos". These ships immediately took part in the battle of Sinop, which, however, was already drawing to a close, since the forces of the Turks were exhausted. Batteries No. 5 and 6 continued to disturb our ships until 4 o'clock, but "Paris" and "Rostislav" soon destroyed them. Meanwhile, the rest of the enemy ships, ignited, apparently, by their crews, took off into the air one after another. From this, a fire spread in the city of Sinop, which there was no one to extinguish.
Sinop battle
Among the prisoners was the head of the Turkish squadron, Vice Admiral Osman Pasha, and two ship commanders. At the end of the Battle of Sinop, Russian ships began to repair damage to the rigging and spars, and on the morning of November 20, they weighed anchor to proceed to Sevastopol in tow of steamships. Beyond Cape Sinop, the squadron met a large swell from the northeast, so that the steamers were forced to give up tugboats. At night the wind became stronger, and the ships set sail. On November 22, 1853, around noon, the victorious Russian ships, with general rejoicing, entered the Sevastopol raid.
The victory in the Battle of Sinop had very important consequences for the course of the Crimean War: it freed the Caucasian Black Sea coast of Russia from the danger of a Turkish landing.
Since the time of Peter the Great, the sea has been for Russian Empire a window to Europe and a guarantee of future development and therefore one of the most important battlefields. And in the person of Aivazovsky, the state found an excellent singer of its victories. The artist himself was fascinated by the Russian fleet and willingly took government orders. Not without reason, having barely graduated from the Academy of Arts, he was sent by Emperor Nicholas I himself to accompany his son, Grand Duke Constantine, on a practical voyage across the Baltic. Throughout his life, Aivazovsky repeatedly addressed the topic of wars. Let's remember the brightest canvases.
Battle in the Strait of Chios June 24, 1770
Battle in the Chios Strait on June 24, 1770. 1848. Feodosia Art Gallery. Aivazovsky
One of the battles of the Russian-Turkish war, which took place near the island of Chios in the Mediterranean Sea. The Russian squadron, led by Alexei Orlov, defeated the Turks, doubly superior in strength. The picture shows key moment battle - the collision of the ships "Saint Eustathius" and "Burj-u-Zafera".
Chesme battle on the night of June 25-26, 1770
Chesme battle on the night of June 25-26, 1770. 1848. Feodosia Art Gallery. Aivazovsky
The most important battle of the same war, thanks to the victory in which Alexei Orlov received the honorary title of Chesme. It happened the day after Chios - the Turks retreated from the Chios Strait to the Chesme Bay under the cover of coastal batteries. The picture shows the moment when one of the Russian fireships sets fire to an enemy ship, and the boat with the crew that left the burning fireship approaches our flagship Three Hierarchs.
Naval battle at Vyborg on June 29, 1790
A victorious battle during the Russo-Swedish War - and again in the reign of Catherine the Great! She knew how to select commanders. The Russian fleet was commanded by Admiral Vasily Chichagov. The pandemonium at sea was huge - only from the Swedes participated 35 battleships and frigates and 366 small ships. For the victory, Chichagov became the first of the naval commanders to be awarded the Order of St. George, I degree.
Naval Battle of Navarino October 2, 1827
Naval Battle of Navarino, October 2, 1827. 1846. Naval Academy. Kuznetsova
The Battle of Navarino, which took place in the bay of the same name in the Ionian Sea, near the Peloponnese, is a rare example of a 19th-century battle in which England, France and Russia fought on the same side. Their enemy was the fleet Ottoman Empire, who opposed the attempts of Greece to free itself from its dominion. Aivazovsky captured the flagship "Azov", on which, by the way, Lieutenant Nakhimov and midshipman Kornilov, then unknown to anyone, served. The ship is damaged, but is boarded by a Turkish ship.
Brig "Mercury", attacked by two Turkish ships
Brig "Mercury", attacked by two Turkish ships (in 1829). 1890. Feodosia art gallery
The battle depicted in the painting took place in 1829, when the Russian brig Mercury was patrolling the Bosphorus. Due to the weak wind, he could not get away from the chase and was attacked by Turkish battleships Selimiye and Real Bay. With only 18 guns against 200 of the enemy, the brave little "Mercury" managed to damage both Turks and, having lost four people killed, return to Sevastopol.
The landing of Nikolai Raevsky near Subashi
The landing of Nikolai Raevsky near Subashi. 1839. Samara Regional Art Museum
The operation, which took place in 1839, the young Aivazovsky saw with his own eyes: Admiral Mikhail Lazarev invited him to witness the battles Caucasian War. Now Subashi is the Sochi district of Golovinka, and in those years these were wild Circassian territories. Raevsky landed troops at the mouth of the Shakhe and Subashi rivers, recaptured the territory from the highlanders and built a fort on it. Aivazovsky participated in the landing, making sketches. On the back of the painting there is an inscription: "Belongs to the eldest in the Raevsky family, without the right to sell."
Battle of Sinop November 18, 1853 (Night after the battle)
Crimean War, a direct witness of which he was, Aivazovsky devoted more than one work. Sinop battle was almost the last major battle sailing fleets - later came the era steam ships, although Aivazovsky in his paintings for another half a century will remain devoted to sails and yards. The Russian fleet was headed by Vice Admiral Nakhimov. He also instructed Prince Viktor Baryatinsky to sketch out the layout of the ships on the spot, which was transferred to Aivazovsky for work. The artist wrote the picture really in hot pursuit.
A special place in the legacy of Aivazovsky is occupied by works dedicated to the exploits of the Russian fleet, which constituted its original historical chronicle, starting from the battles of the time of Peter I and ending with the contemporary events of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 and the Russian-Turkish 1877-1878 for the liberation of the Balkans. Since 1844, Aivazovsky was a painter of the Main Naval Staff. November 18, 1853, during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, a naval battle took place between the Russian and Turkish squadrons in the Sinop Bay. The Turkish squadron of Osman Pasha left Constantinople for a landing operation in the Sukhum-Kale region and made a stop in the Sinop Bay. The Russian Black Sea Fleet had the task of preventing the active actions of the enemy. A squadron under the command of Vice-Admiral P.S. Nakhimov (3 battleships) during cruising duty discovered the Turkish squadron and blocked it in the bay. Help was requested from Sevastopol. By the time of the battle, the Russian squadron had 6 battleships and 2 frigates, and the Turkish squadron had 7 frigates, 3 corvettes, 2 steam frigates, 2 brigs, 2 transports. The Russians had 720 guns, and the Turks - 510. As a result of the battle, which lasted 4 hours, the entire Turkish fleet (with the exception of the Taif steamer) was destroyed. The Turks lost more than 3 thousand people killed and drowned, about 200 people. were captured (including the commander of the fleet). The Russians lost 37 people. killed and 235 wounded. With the victory in the Sinop Bay, the Russian fleet gained complete dominance in the Black Sea and thwarted the plans for the landing of the Turks in the Caucasus.
As soon as the rumor about the Battle of Sinop reached Aivazovsky, he immediately went to Sevastopol, asked the participants in the battle about all the circumstances of the case. Soon, two paintings by Aivazovsky were exhibited in Sevastopol, depicting the Sinop battle at night and during the day. These were the paintings of the Naval Battle of Sinop on November 18, 1853 and the Battle of Sinop. The night after the battle.
The exhibition was visited by Admiral Nakhimov; highly appreciating the work of Aivazovsky, especially the picture of the Battle of Sinop. The night after the battle. He said: "The picture is extremely well done."
Having visited the besieged Sevastopol, Aivazovsky also painted a number of paintings dedicated to the heroic defense of the city.
Calm sea. 1863.
The sea was his element. Only he was opened the soul of the artist. Each time standing at the easel, Aivazovsky gave free rein to his imagination. And the canvas embodied exactly what he saw in advance with his inner eye.
Thus, Aivazovsky entered contemporary art, guided by his own laws of artistic worldview. The artistic thinking of the master is decorative; it is due to his childhood, his blood, his lineage. Decorativeness does not interfere at all, but contributes to Aivazovsky in his precise emotional characteristics of the depicted. The perfection of the result is achieved by the virtuosity of the most extraordinary tonal nuances. Here he has no equal, which is why he was compared with Paganini. Aivazovsky - maestro of tone. The canons of the European school assimilated by him are superimposed on his natural, purely national decorative flair. This unity of the two principles allows the artist to achieve such a convincing saturation of the light-air atmosphere, and a melodious color harmony. Perhaps it is precisely in the uniqueness of such a merger that the magical appeal of his paintings lies.
Among the waves.
In continuous communication with the sea - a symbol of freedom, space - a long and glorious life of the master passed. And the sea, sometimes calm, sometimes turbulent or stormy, generously gave him an inexhaustible wealth of impressions. Aivazovsky painted the picture Among the Waves, which was the pinnacle of his work, when he was 80 years old.
“Above the abyss, gray furious waves rush about. They are immense, they rush upward in anger, but black, lead clouds, driven by a storm wind, hang over the abyss, and here, as in an ominous hellish cauldron, the elements rule. The sea is bubbling, bubbling, foaming. Shaft crests sparkle. Not a single living soul, even a free bird, dares to see the rampant storm... Deserted...
Only a great artist could see and remember this truly planetary moment when you believe in the primordial existence of our Earth. And through the roar and roar of the storm, a ray of sunshine breaks through with a quiet melody of joy, and somewhere in the distance a narrow strip of light glimmers ”(I.V. Dolgopolov).
The artist depicted a raging element - a stormy sky and a stormy sea covered with waves, as if boiling in collision with one another. He abandoned the usual details in his paintings in the form of fragments of masts and dying ships lost in the boundless sea. He knew many ways to dramatize the plots of his paintings, but did not resort to any of them while working on this work. Among the waves, as it were, the Black Sea continues to reveal in time the content of the picture: if in one case an agitated sea is depicted, in the other it is already raging, at the moment of the highest formidable state of the sea element. The mastery of the painting Among the waves is the fruit of a long and hard work of the artist's entire life. Work on it proceeded quickly and easily. Obedient to the hand of the artist, the brush sculpted exactly the shape that the artist wanted, and laid the paint on the canvas in the way that the experience of skill and the instinct of a great artist, who did not correct the brushstroke once put, prompted him.
Apparently, Aivazovsky himself was aware that the painting Among the Waves is much higher in terms of the execution of all previous works. recent years. Despite the fact that after its creation, he worked for another two years, arranged exhibitions of his works in Moscow, London and St. Petersburg, he did not take this painting out of Feodosia, he bequeathed it along with other works that were in his art gallery, hometown Feodosia.
Until old age last days Aivazovsky's life was full of new ideas that excited him as if he were not an eighty-year-old highly experienced master who painted six thousand paintings, but a young, novice artist who had just embarked on the path of art. For the lively active nature of the artist and the preserved unblunted feelings, his answer to the question of one of his friends is characteristic: which of all the paintings painted by the master himself considers the best.
“The one,” Aivazovsky answered without hesitation, “that stands on the easel in the workshop, which I began to paint today ...”
In his correspondence of recent years there are lines that speak of the deep excitement that accompanied his work. At the end of a large business letter in 1894 there are these words: "Forgive me for writing on pieces (of paper). I am painting a big picture and am terribly worried." In another letter (1899): "I have written a lot this year. 82 years make me hurry ..." He was at the age when he was clearly aware that his time was running out, but he continued to work with ever-increasing energy.
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Sinking
Ship.
Speaking about the work of Aivazovsky, one cannot help but dwell on the great graphic heritage left by the master.
One of the best graphic works of the artist is the picture of the sinking ship.
During his long life, Aivazovsky made a number of trips: he visited Italy, Paris and other European cities several times, worked in the Caucasus, sailed to the shores of Asia Minor, was in Egypt, and at the end of his life, in 1898, made a long journey to America . During sea voyages, he enriched his observations, and drawings accumulated in his folders.
Aivazovsky always painted a lot and willingly. His drawings are of great interest both in terms of their artistic execution and for understanding the artist's creative method. Among pencil drawings, works dating back to the forties, by the time of his academic trip of 1840-1844 and sailing off the coast of Asia Minor and the Archipelago in the summer of 1845, stand out for their mature skill.
In the 1840s, Aivazovsky worked extensively in southern Russia, mainly in the Crimea. There he created a graphic series of sea views in sepia technique. The artist made a light sketch of the landscape with a graphite pencil and then painted in sepia, the brownish color of which varied subtly from saturated to light, completely transparent. To convey the brilliance of the water surface or sea foam, the artist often used whitewash or scratched the top layer of specially primed paper, which created an additional light effect. One of these works View of the city of Nikolaev is in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
The drawings of this pore are harmonious in terms of the compositional distribution of masses and are distinguished by a strict elaboration of details. Large sizes sheet and graphic completeness speak of great importance, which Aivazovsky attached to drawings made from life. These were mostly images of coastal cities. With sharp hard graphite, Aivazovsky painted city buildings clinging to the ledges of mountains, receding into the distance, or individual buildings he liked, composing them into landscapes. With the simplest graphic means - a line, almost without using chiaroscuro, he achieved the finest effects and accurate transmission volume and space.
The drawings he made during his travels always helped him in his creative work. In his youth, he often used drawings to compose paintings without any changes. Later, he freely processed them, and often they served him only as the first impetus for the implementation of creative ideas. The second half of Aivazovsky's life includes a large number of drawings made in a free, broad manner. In the last period of his creative work, when Aivazovsky made sketches of his travels, he began to draw freely, reproducing with a line all the curves of the form, often barely touching the paper with a soft pencil. His drawings, having lost their former graphic rigor and distinctness, acquired new pictorial qualities.
As Aivazovsky's creative method crystallized and vast creative experience and skill accumulated, a noticeable shift took place in the artist's work, which affected his preparatory drawings. Now he creates a sketch of the future work from his imagination, and not from a natural drawing, as he did in the early period of creativity. Not always, of course, Aivazovsky was immediately satisfied with the solution found in the sketch. There are three versions of the sketch for his latest painting "Explosion of the ship". He strove for the best composition solution even in the drawing format: two drawings were made in a horizontal rectangle and one in a vertical one. All three are made with a cursory stroke, conveying the scheme of the composition. Such drawings, as it were, illustrate the words of Aivazovsky related to the method of his work: "Having sketched a plan of the picture I conceived with a pencil on a piece of paper, I set to work and, so to speak, give myself to it with all my heart." Aivazovsky's graphics enrich and expand our familiar understanding of his work and his peculiar method of work. For graphic works, Aivazovsky used a variety of materials and techniques.
The sixties include a number of finely painted watercolors, made in one color - sepia. Using usually a light filling of the sky with highly diluted paint, barely outlining the clouds, slightly touching the water, Aivazovsky laid out the foreground widely, in a dark tone, painted the mountains of the background and painted a boat or ship on the water in a deep sepia tone. With such simple means, he sometimes conveyed all the charm of a bright sunny day on the sea, the rolling of a transparent wave on the shore, the radiance of light clouds over the deep sea distance. In terms of the height of skill and subtlety of the transmitted state of nature, such sepia by Aivazovsky go far beyond the usual idea of watercolor sketches.
In 1860, Aivazovsky painted this kind of beautiful sepia "The Sea after the Storm." Aivazovsky was apparently satisfied with this watercolor, as he sent it as a gift to P.M. Tretyakov. Aivazovsky widely used coated paper, drawing on which he achieved virtuoso skill. These drawings include "The Tempest", created in 1855. The drawing was made on paper, tinted in the upper part with warm pink, and in the lower part with steel gray. Various tricks scratching the tinted chalk layer, Aivazovsky well conveyed the foam on the crests of the wave and the glare on the water. Aivazovsky also masterfully drew with pen and ink.
View of the city of Nikolaev. 1843. Fragment.
Chesme battle. 1848.
The Battle of Chesme is one of the most glorious and heroic pages in history. Russian fleet. Aivazovsky was not, and could not be, a witness to the event that took place on the night of June 26, 1770. But how convincingly and authentically he reproduced on his canvas the picture of a naval battle. Ships explode and burn, fragments of masts fly up to the sky, flames rise, and scarlet-gray smoke mixes with clouds through which the moon looks at what is happening. Its cold and calm light only emphasizes the hellish mixture of fire and water in the sea. It seems that the artist himself, when creating a picture, experienced the rapture of the battle, where the Russian sailors won a brilliant victory. Therefore, despite the fierceness of the battle, the picture leaves a major impression and resembles a grandiose fireworks display. The plot for this work was the episode Russian-Turkish war 1768-1774. For decades, Russia has waged wars with Turkey for possession of the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Two Russian squadrons that left Kronstadt, after a long transition across the Baltic, passed the English Channel, rounded the coast of France and Portugal, passed Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Here they met with the Turkish fleet, which was then considered the strongest in the world. After several military skirmishes, the Turkish raft took refuge in the Chesme Bay in a panic. Russian ships closed the exit from the bay and during the night battle almost completely burned and destroyed the Turkish fleet. On the Russian side, 11 sailors died, on the Turkish side - 10,000 people.
It was an unprecedented victory in the history of naval battles. In memory of her, a medal was knocked out, Count Alexei Orlov, who commanded the squadrons, received the title of Chesme, and in Tsarskoye Selo Catherine II ordered to erect a monument to this battle - the Chesme column. It still stands proudly in the middle of the Big Pond. Its marble trunk is completed by an allegorical sculpture - a double-headed eagle breaking a marble crescent.
A painter of the Main Naval Staff (since 1844), Aivazovsky takes part in a number of military campaigns (including the Crimean War of 1853-1856), creating many pathetic battle paintings.
Aivazovsky's painting of the forties and fifties was marked by a strong influence of the romantic traditions of K.P. Bryullov, which affected not only the skill of painting, but also the very understanding of art and the worldview of Aivazovsky. Like Bryullov, he strives to create grandiose colorful canvases that can glorify Russian art. With Bryullov, Aivazovsky is related by brilliant painting skills, virtuoso technique, speed and courage of performance. This was very clearly reflected in one of the early battle paintings Chesma battle, written by him in 1848, dedicated to the outstanding naval battle. Aivazovsky in the same 1848 painted a picture of the Battle in the Strait of Chios, which made up a kind of pair-diptych with the Battle of Chesme, glorifying the victories of the Russian fleet.
After the Chesme battle took place in 1770, Orlov wrote in his report to the Admiralty College: "... Honor to the All-Russian fleet. From June 25 to June 26, the enemy fleet (we) attacked, defeated, broke, burned, let it into the sky, into ashes turned ... and they themselves began to be dominant in the entire archipelago ... "The pathos of this report, pride in the outstanding feat of Russian sailors, the joy of the victory achieved was perfectly conveyed by Aivazovsky in his picture. At the first glance at the picture, we are seized by a feeling of joyful excitement as from a festive spectacle - a brilliant firework. And only with a detailed examination of the picture becomes clear the plot side of it. The fight is depicted at night. Burning ships are visible in the depths of the bay Turkish fleet, one of them - at the time of the explosion. Embraced by fire and smoke, the wreckage of the ship, which has turned into a huge blazing fire, is flying into the air. And on the side, in the foreground, the flagship of the Russian fleet rises in a dark silhouette, to which, saluting, a boat approaches with the team of Lieutenant Ilyin, who blew up his firewall among the Turkish flotilla. And if we get closer to the picture, we will distinguish on the water the wreckage of Turkish ships with groups of sailors calling for help, and other details.
Aivazovsky was the last and most prominent representative of the romantic trend in Russian painting, and these features of his art were especially evident when he painted sea battles full of heroic pathos; they could hear that "battle music", without which the battle picture is devoid of emotional impact.
