The description of the painting: "The Black Sea" by Ivan Aivazovsky

I decided to describe this landscape, searching my albums with pictures. Actually I have many of them. My mother has shown them to me when I was a child. I still remember that moments.

Size: If we are going to speak about the size of the picture, we are to say that, from my point of view, it’s very big (149×208 sm). But, on the other hand we should point out that the prominent Russian painter, I. Aivazovsky used such a size to show us how the Black Sea is big. It’s the illustration of the sea with the help of the size of the canvas.

Shape: To mu mind the shape of the canvas suit the subject matter. It’s not only presents the sea itself, but also, as it’s very long and thin one add to the drama of the landscape. The drama is also shown because it’s the storm in the sea on the picture.

Artist’s Statement: It’s very difficult to answer this question whether Aivazovsky has achieved his aim or not to make a drawing of this landscape, but it’s clear to us that a painting is hide inside of itself the soul of an artist. Kramskoy supposed “The Black Sea” to be the best work of Aivazovsky.

Title of the Painting: The title of the painting is “The Black Sea”. It tells me, that on the picture I’ll sea the Black sea, but actually it’s not only the Black, but black by its color: there is a storm. That’s why we may say that the artist used such a title not only to paint the Black sea, or it can not be the Black sea at all, but to show us the darkness of the heavy sea.

Subject Matter: The painting is of the sea landscape in a bad weather. It’s intriguing, because there is a small fishing boat in the background which tries to come home through the environment and the question appears: Does it complete its mission? I clearly understand the symbolism in the painting as I have already mentioned above.

Emotional Response: The painting generates an emotional reaction in me: I’ve searched a picture to make an analyze and this landscape impressed me greatly by its deep and intrigue with the boat into the distance. The overall mood of the painting is mysteriousness, it seems like something will appear from the water: also there is such a sense like the storm will come to an end because the sky is started to lift in the background of canvas. Personally I think that it’s suitable for the subject.

Composition: Truly speaking there is only one element of the painting – the sea. It becomes darker and darker from the foreground up to background. The fishing boat is hardly seen on the general background. My eye flows across the whole painting. The main focus of the painting slap-bang in the center of the painting, both vertically and horizontally. There is something that draws my eye into the painting: it’s the boat, we can’t notice it at first sight. I don’t think that it’s been slavishly copied from reality or from a photograph it is the imagination of the painter, the condition of his soul, his mood and life.

Skill: The artist display the so-called “level-to-stare at”, because without this action it’s impossible to understand the idea, having seen the boat. General feelings say that Aivazovsky is the master and a very renowned and imaginative painter.

Medium: The canvas 149×208 sm, oil paints, pencils and imagination of the creator was used to create the painting. The artists has done all his best with the possibilities presented by his choice of medium.

Color: Color has been used realistically (green, black and emerald sea, white foam of water-waves and grey sky) and used to convey emotion at the same time: black sea is symbolized trouble and coming misfortune, emerald sea frightens the viewer and grey sky doesn’t give us a chance to escape from the will of the God. The colors are cool and they suit the subject.

Texture: I’d like to see the painting in “real life.”