Lot 3210* - A216 19th Century Paintings - Friday, 27. March 2026, 04.00 PM
IVAN KONSTANTINOVICH AIVAZOVSKY
(1817 Feodosija 1900)
Shipwreck on a rocky coast. 1872.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated lower right: I. Aïvasovsky. 1872.
46.5 × 72 cm.
Certificate:
Provenance:
- Auction Bonhams, London, 28 November 2018, lot 13 (verso with label).
- European private collection.
Exhibited:
Literature:
As a leading representative of European Romanticism, Ivan Aivazovsky devoted himself in particular to dramatic seascapes featuring storms and shipwrecks, in which the elemental power of the sea is strikingly set against the fragility of human existence. The powerful painting offered here clearly demonstrates Aivazovsky’s mastery of this subject matter, unequalled as he was in his ability to capture on canvas the raging sea and dramatic effects of light.
Especially during the 1870s, Aivazovsky repeatedly turned to the motif of the shipwreck, producing a series of variations on this theme. The present painting, dated 1872, represents a particularly fine example within this group of works in Aivazovsky’s oeuvre. All the characteristic elements of a shipwreck painting by Aivazovsky are present: a lifeboat is tossed by storm-driven waves crashing against a rocky cliff. In it is the crew of the sailing ship, which has been shattered on the rocks, and can only be recognised dimly in the shadow of the menacing cliffs in the background.
Above all, the dynamism of the composition and the handling of light – accentuated by the virtuoso gradation between light and dark blue tones in the water – elevate this painting to a first-rate masterpiece by Aivazovsky. His shipwreck scenes not only captivated his contemporaries but continue to rank among his most celebrated works today.
The work was probably exhibited in 1876 at the International Exhibition in Philadelphia under the title ‘Storm in Black Sea, near the Crimean coast’, from where it came into the possession of American tobacco manufacturers before ultimately finding its way back to Europe in more recent years.
Especially during the 1870s, Aivazovsky repeatedly turned to the motif of the shipwreck, producing a series of variations on this theme. The present painting, dated 1872, represents a particularly fine example within this group of works in Aivazovsky’s oeuvre. All the characteristic elements of a shipwreck painting by Aivazovsky are present: a lifeboat is tossed by storm-driven waves crashing against a rocky cliff. In it is the crew of the sailing ship, which has been shattered on the rocks, and can only be recognised dimly in the shadow of the menacing cliffs in the background.
Above all, the dynamism of the composition and the handling of light – accentuated by the virtuoso gradation between light and dark blue tones in the water – elevate this painting to a first-rate masterpiece by Aivazovsky. His shipwreck scenes not only captivated his contemporaries but continue to rank among his most celebrated works today.
The work was probably exhibited in 1876 at the International Exhibition in Philadelphia under the title ‘Storm in Black Sea, near the Crimean coast’, from where it came into the possession of American tobacco manufacturers before ultimately finding its way back to Europe in more recent years.
CHF 180 000 / 250 000 | (€ 185 570 / 257 730)
Sold for CHF 719 600 (including buyer’s premium)
All information is subject to change.