The Aivazovsky Art Gallery is the main attraction of Feodosia. This is the largest collection of paintings by the great Russian artist in Russia. His paintings are in almost all Art galleries in Russia. Many people come to Feodosia from other resorts of the Crimea to visit this gallery.
The great Russian artist was born in Feodosia in 1817 in the family of an Armenian merchant. He had artistic and musical abilities since childhood. Since 1833, he was accepted to study at the state expense at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. He graduated with special honors, and the teachers released Aivazovsky in 1837, two years earlier, so that he could paint on his own. The teachers understood that they could no longer teach this talented student anything. Aivazovsky returned to Feodosia, and then went abroad for 6 years.
Most of his works, with rare exceptions, Ivan Aivazovsky devoted to the maritime theme. Over time, he became an academician not only in Russia, but also in several other European countries. He is recognized as one of the world`s greatest marine painters. Russian tsars have always patronized Aivazovsky. Tsar Nicholas I once told him: "I am the king of the earth, and you are the king of the sea." He also said: "Whatever Aivazovsky pain, everything will be bought by me."
The Aivazovsky Art Gallery in his native Feodosia was first opened in 1845, where the artist presented 49 of his paintings. The Aivazovsky Art School also started its work here. In 1880, the private gallery became a public museum with a large collection of paintings by Aivazovsky. The gallery`s exhibition spaces have been significantly expanded. After the death of Ivan Aivazovsky, the gallery on the Embankment of Feodosia, according to the will of the artist, became the property of the city.
The Sister`s House adjoins the art gallery. Ivan Aivazovsky`s sister lived there. There is a collection of paintings by Aivazovsky on biblical themes, as well as a collection of European marine artists. Currently, the Aivazovsky Art Gallery houses 417 paintings by the great Russian artist. Most of them are represented in the permanent exhibition.
