Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky

The canvas has been lined. The surface is covered in a layer of dirt and an uneven varnish. There is craqueleur throughout. Inspection under UV light reveals restoration throughout, particularly along the edges. Held in a gold painted frame. Unexamained out of frame.
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Windmills are a reoccurring feature in Aivazovsky’s Ukrainian landscapes, such as Chumaks by a Windmill painted only a year earlier than the present work (fig. 1). In this peaceful scene two men watch the moon rise over the waters of the River Dnieper as a ship sails off. The colour palette is restrained, adding to the serenity and balance of the scene. An extremely well-travelled artist, Aivazovsky visited Amsterdam in 1844 where he is likely to have encountered seventeenth century Dutch artists including Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) whose landscapes such as Windmill by a River (1642) beautifully capture the flat landscape with an equally restrained palette. 

The present work is included in the numbered archive of the artist’s work compiled by Gianni Caffiero and Ivan Samarine.