Alexey
Vasilyevich Ganzen

Born 31.01.(Articles 19.01) 1876, in Odessa) – died of 19.10.1937 No. in Dubrovnik (Croatia).

Marine painter, Professor, collector, Honorary member of the Odessa city, Shlisselburgsky district and the Petrograd city Wards of orphanages, Court Counselor with seniority, the artist of the Naval Ministry of Russia, one of the three who became artists, grandchildren of I. K. Aivazovsky, the son of his second daughter Maria Ivanovna Aivazovskaya (married Hansen).

Awards: St. Anne CH. 3st., St. Stanislaus 2 and 3 of the article, light bronze medal in memory of the 300 anniversary of Reign of the Romanov dynasty, the French mark "Offizier dAcademie".

Alexei V. Hansen received training in the 2nd gymnasium of Odessa, and then in the Richelieu gymnasium in Odessa. In 1900 he graduated from the law faculty of Novorossiysk (now Odessa) University diploma of the II degree. Judging by the correspondence already in Odessa began to paint. Wanting to devote himself to painting, leaving to study in Munich at Ezhi Brecht. He graduated from the two Academies of fine arts in Berlin and Dresden, where he was class Marina and skyline Professor Carl Salzman and Fields Meyerheim. In 1902 the Berlin Academy of arts commissioned him, a foreigner, observation on the several pensioners who were in Italy. Four months under his leadership, they wrote sketches for the magic of the Ligurian coast at Genoa. In 1903 A. Hansen is involved in a Large exhibition in Berlin with the work "Depeschenboot". In 1898-1904 he participated in exhibitions of Church in Odessa and Spring exhibitions in the halls of the Academy of Arts. After a trip to Italy and went to Paris, where he continued to study painting at Anthony Robert-Fleury and Jules Lefebvre, "under the influence which created his own style seascape with great personality". In 1907, exposes his work "the Black sea" in the Salon des Champs-elysées, receives the award "Mention honorable", which gives him the opportunity to exhibit outside the jury.

Alex Hansen is a member of several foreign artistic societies, including the society of Russian artists in Paris. During this period he per year to 100 paintings, top-selling Paris, London and America. On the recognition of his talent is the fact that in 1908 the French Republic acquired his painting "After the storm" (found "Calm after the storm"), which was subsequently presented by France to Madrid. He exhibited in Hanover and Bordeaux.

In 1904-1905 executed paintings on the theme of the Russo-Japanese war: "the death of the battleship "Petropavlovsk", the "Night attack and the reflection of the destroyers, the Armored cruiser "Admiral Makarov" and others in 1909 Hansen more attention in his works is giving to the Navy. In the spring of 1909, the artist made a trip on the cruiser "Admiral Makarov", who accompanied the Imperial yacht "Standart" during the meeting of Emperor Nicholas II with the heads of state of Germany, France and the UK. One of the 60 sketches, brought from the trip - "the Yacht Shtandart on Rebelscum RAID" - was donated by them to the Russian monarch (currently work is in private collection in Russia). The work of an artist during a journey marked by the gift of the Emperor – with a pin in the form of the Russian coat of arms with diamonds.

At the end of 1909, A. Hansen is taking a trip to the Crimea and the Caucasus. In the spring of 1910 opens an exhibition of his works in the galleries "Internazional art Gallery". Where they were are 52 oil paintings, 12 watercolors, some of which have huge sizes and 9 etchings. In the summer of 1910 he returned to Odessa from Paris and brings his bronze bust, made by Leopold Bernstam (currently in the collections of the National art gallery to them. I. K. Aivazovsky in Feodosia).

Since 1910, A. hansena was captured by the idea of creating the first in the South of Russia art Museum in Odessa at the image galleries created by the grandfather of I. K. Aivazovsky. Support in making this determination it is represented by N. To. Roerich, A. A. Rostislavov, B. M. Kustodiev, I. A. Bilibin and other artists. Of them collected in the collection except for the works of Aivazovsky, Vrubel, Roerich, Brodsky, Burdanova and other Russian artists were the etchings of Rembrandt . In this period, the artist participated in the exhibitions of paintings of the Society of Russian watercolors (SPb, 1907-1909, 1912,1915-1917) and became a constant participant of exhibitions and sales of paintings in Russia and a member of the "Association of artists" (Moscow, 1912, PG., 1916).

Since 1914, Hansen lives in St. Petersburg, on the Nadezhdinskaya street (today Mayakovsky), in the estate of a novel-Ali near Old Crimea, presented by I. K. Aivazovsky to his second daughter Mary. He writes a lot of landscapes in oil, watercolor, Sepia and gouache, is engaged in engraving. During the first world war, Alex Hansen wrote battle scenes, which were published in magazines "Twinkle", "Niva", "Sun of Russia", "the Annals of war", etc. At the art exhibition "War" (PG., 1915.) he showed a large painting of the "Battle "of St. Eugenia" with "Hebenon", commissioned by the Government. In 1916, in Petrograd came the album "Russian Imperial fleet", which included 25 coloured facsimile reproductions of watercolors by Hansen, reproducing the types of Russian ships from the boat of Peter the great to the latest military ships and scenes from the life of the fleet in peace and war: "the galley fleet in the archipelago. Nach. XVIII century a clipper in the ocean. 1878", "Loading dock", "the Baltic fleet in winter", etc.

Battle scenes written by Hansena, enjoyed great success with the public. In 1914-1915 the war Department became its main customer. In 1915 the Supreme order of the Navy and the Navy Department about the ranks of the civil No. 1026 Alexei Vasilyevich Hansen was transferred to serve in the Navy, with the appointment to be at the Ministry of the Navy. In February 1917, the candidacy of A. Hansen together with Bilibin, Serebryakova, Konenkov and others were nominated for the award of the title of academician, but balloting, scheduled for October did not take place due to the revolution.

In January 1920, Alexei Vasilyevich Hansen with his wife Olympics Vladimirovna left Russia and through Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Leskovac arrived in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In November 1920 in Zagreb hosted the first exhibition of his works.

In 20-ies A. Hansen was exhibited in Prague, Rome, Bucharest, Rio de Janeiro, and twice in Buenos Aires. In July 1929 in Paris at the Galerie Georges Petit held the second solo exhibition of paintings by Alexei Ganzen that have received numerous rave reviews. In 1933, in Zagreb published the book "History of naval art" in three volumes in the Croatian language. The author is rear Admiral A. D. Bubnov. The illustrations were made by A. V. Hansena. The beauty of its marvelous paintings he glorified the Adriatic in Europe and South America.

For your life A. Hansen has written more than 3000 large canvases, Others are not identifiable. Among them are elegant cute miniatures, delicate watercolors and Sepia.

According to the memoirs of contemporaries Alexei Vasilyevich Hansen was a highly educated, cultured Europeans who worked sincerely and uncompromisingly, persistently worked over any "trifle" from a young age, to death. His last exhibition was devoted to the fleet Dalmatia - from the first sailing ships and the cruiser "Dubrovnik" (from the obituary). Knowing the structure of military courts, he wrote them with a "portrait likeness" regardless of whether it is the German cruiser "Konigsberg", Russian destroyer "Live" or the English fleet in the Dardanelles.

Alexei V. Hansen died on 19 Oct 1937. He is buried at the Orthodox cemetery in Dubrovnik.

(biography published with the permission of the great-granddaughter of the artist, I. F. Kasatsky, for more details see the official website http://hanzen.ru)