Genius and the sea. Traditions, searches, discoveries

Exhibition September 12 − October 31, 2017
National Museum "Kiev Art Gallery"(former Kiev National Museum of Russian Art) presents the exhibition “Genius and the Sea. Traditions, searches, discoveries. ” The event is dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the museum and the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great artist, unsurpassed marine painter Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky.

The exhibition, covering the period XVIII-XX centuries, will demonstrate more than 60 works, united by the theme of the sea. The exhibition organizers deliberately moved away from the monographic method and the chronological order: not only paintings by Aivazovsky (18 exhibits describing the different stages of the painter’s career), but also the works of his predecessors, students, and followers, both famous and little known, will be presented. This will allow visitors to explore the established artistic traditions in depicting the sea, learn about the search and innovative ideas of marine painters, understand how strong Aivazovsky’s influence was on the next generations of creators.

Also in the gallery will show photos of paintings by Ivan Konstantinovich, lost by the museum during the Second World War, and exhibits provided by the Sheremetyev Museum: archival documents, photographs, objects from the 19th century warships and personal belongings of naval officers who were Aivazovsky’s contemporaries.

Thanks to the work of several generations of talented artists (besides Aivazovsky - MA Voloshin, NN Ge, LF Lagorio and others), presented at exhibition, visitors can see the sea in all its glory, in its different “moods”.