Summary
Ruben S. Angaladyan
Key words – Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian community, Armenian themes, the spiritual and heroic history of Armenia, portraits of outstanding Armenians, Russian sailors, pulse of historical homeland.
The purpose of the work is to show how well the art of Ivan Aivazovsky (1817-1900) fits into the Armenian world and if the great seascapeist can be considered as a Russian as well as Armenian painter.
As a man, he was not alien to his roots, he felt like an Armenian and was proud of his creative and spiritual people. He greatly respected Armenian traditions, in fact, was brought up in a traditional Armenian family, and therefore the Armenian community was always top-priority for the artist. He created more than 40 canvases on Armenian themes. Some of them are dedicated to the spiritual and heroic history of Armenia, others are portraits of his family and friends, as well as portraits of outstanding Armenians – Catholicos of All Armenians Mkrtich Khrimyan, Minister Loris-Melikov, Mayor of Nor Nakhichevan Kh. Khalibyan.
He received encouragement, attention, and then – really high recognition in Russia. He loved Russia’s devotion to the sea, admiring the courage of Russian sailors. But he never moved away from the native Armenian people and wherever he was, he was always feeling the pulse of his historical homeland.