Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky SUNSET OVER YALTA
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky 1817-1900 SUNSET OVER YALTA signed in Cyrillic and dated 1861 l.l. oil on canvas 67 by 89cm, 26 1/4 by 35in Throughout his life, Aivazovsky turned frequently to his beloved Crimea for inspiration. Whether depicting the coastline in the intense midday heat, or bathed in the rose-pink rays of the setting sun, as in the offered view, these compositions are testament to the artist's unrivalled mastery of the depiction of light on water and the importance of sunlight in his canvases. As Aivazovsky himself commented, 'the paintings whose principal effect comes from the sunlight should be considered my best' (the artist quoted in Sh.Khachatourian, Aivazovsky, The Poetry of the Sea , Paris: Thalia Edition, 2007, p.32). In the offered lot, the stillness of the early evening is palpable. Aivazovsky frames the elegant sweep of the bay with the majestic silhouettes of the cypresses in the foreground, whose rich green hu...