Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky

Prince Peter Wittgenstein, Westphalia
Sale: Collection of Fürst Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, Creutzer-Lempertz, Aachen, Germany, December 15-16, 1920, lot 2
Property from a Private Collection, Vienna, Austria
Sale: Sotheby's London, June 16, 1994, lot 22, illustrated
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

Paris, Louvre, 1843

Nikolai Sobko, Encyclopedia of Russian Artists, Volume I, subvolume I (A), 1893, column 315 (incorrectly dated 1842)
Gianni Caffiero and Ivan Samarine, Seas, Cities and Dreams: The Paintings of Ivan Aivazovsky, London: Alexandria Press Ltd, 2000, p. 100, illustrated

This painting has been fairly recently restored. The canvas has been lined and the paint layer is stable and has been cleaned and lightly varnished. There appear to be no retouches visible under ultraviolet light and the paint layer seems to be in beautiful condition. Any slightly brushy areas of pigment, for instance in the lake on the right side, seem to be intentional and there has been no abrasion or reduction of subtlety to the pigment. Overall the picture is in beautiful state and may be hung as is. The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore is an extraordinary example of Ivan Aivazovsky's Italian period. No other work of this quality from his Italian period has ever appeared at auction.

Aivazovsky traveled to Italy for the first time in 1840, when he was still a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. Italy had long held a fascination for him, like it had for so many of his contemporaries, but only the most promising students were awarded scholarships and sent abroad to study the masters and perfect their craft. Aivazovsky secured his own trip to the West by winning the Academy's gold medal for "outstanding success in seascape painting." After some time spent in Crimea painting seascapes, he made his way to Rome, arriving there in the fall of 1840. Eager to take in this new landscape, he traveled frequently, painting as he went and participating in various exhibitions. Aivazovsky's time in Italy was very fruitful, and he earned a reputation as one of the leading seascape painters of his time. In the summer of 1841, he settled in Naples and continued to journey throughout the countryside, even spending extended time in the North. When he arrived in the pre-alpine region around Verbania, he visited Lake Maggiore and was particularly captivated by the magical Isola Bella, one of the three tiny Borromean Islands.

Isola Bella is a small, rocky island that lies nearest to the coastal town of Stresa. The island was virtually unoccupied until 1632, when Count Carlo III of the House of Borromeo, an aristocratic family dating from the 12^th century, commissioned a palace that would occupy most of the island's perimeter. This palace was dedicated to his wife, Isabella D'Adda, the island's namesake. The monumental structure was erected under the guidance of Carlo's sons and nephews, and it was completed, along with the surrounding architectural gardens, in 1671.

Isola Bella on Lake Maggiore was executed in 1843, after Aivazovsky moved to Paris in December of 1842 to prepare for an exhibition at the Louvre. This exhibition was an incredible success, and Aivazovsky was the only Russian artist whose works were featured. His mastery of landscape and seascape painting—reminiscent of the important Russian master Sylvestr Shchedrin (1791-1830)—fascinated the public and critics alike, bringing Aivazovsky international exposure and lasting acclaim. The artist even received a gold medal of the third class, on May 2, 1843, from the St. Petersburg Academy, and the great English landscape painter J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), who met Aivazovsky in Rome, exclaimed, "...having taken your picture for reality, but your painting has entranced me, and I am overcome with ecstasy. Your art is lofty and powerful, because you are inspired by  genius" (Gianni Caffiero and Ivan Samarine, Seas, Cities and Dreams, p. 38). Fellow Russian painter Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858) stated, "No one else can paint water quite so well here in Italy" (as quoted in Grigory Goldovsky's Hovhannes Aivazovsky: Paintings, Drawings and Watercolours from the Collections of St. Petersburg, State Russian Museum, 2000, p. 5).

The present lot is perfect evidence of Aivazovsky's talent for painting from memory and pencil sketches rather than "en plein air." His skill for painting water was equally striking, especially since he was still only twenty-six years of age; the lake elegantly reflects the fantastic landscape of the island and its surroundings, creating a mature and exquisite sense of harmony throughout the composition. Aivazovsky's painting achieves a certain feeling of serenity that is present only in his Italian landscapes. Man's presence in the picture seems almost an afterthought; nature and its marvels take precedence, and man finds his peaceful place within it.

The present lot was acquired by Prince Peter Wittgenstein (1769-1843), a Russian field marshal who served in the Napoleonic wars. Dr. Grigory Goldovsky and Ivan Samarine suggest it is the same picture as that listed as Lake Maggiore in Nikolai Sobko's Encyclopedia of Russian Artists, Volume I, subvolume I (A), 1893, column 315.