Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky, born on July 17 (29), 1817, in Feodosia, was a renowned Russian marine and battle painter of Armenian descent. He was also a collector and patron. Aivazovsky specialized in seascapes, often using the subject of the painting merely as a pretext to depict ocean waves. For example, in the painting "Napoleon on the Island of Saint Helena," the figure of Napoleon occupies only a small part of the canvas. The artist created his works from memory, relying on schematic sketches.

Aivazovsky was born into the family of Armenian merchant Aivazyan and was baptized under the name Ovanes. His first painting lessons were from architect Yakov Khristianovich Koch. In 1833, he arrived in St. Petersburg and enrolled in the Academy of Arts, where he studied in the landscape class of Maxim Vorobyov. In 1835, his study "Air over the Sea" brought him his first success and a silver medal. His works attracted the attention of notable figures such as Pushkin, Zhukovsky, Bryullov, and Glinka, which had a significant impact on his development.

In 1837, Aivazovsky first presented his canvases. He also participated in military actions, accompanying Admiral Mikhail Lazarev and Nikolai Raevsky. In Italy, he visited his brother Garik and changed his surname to Aivazovsky. In 1841, he began signing his works as Ivan Aivazovsky.

The paintings created in Italy brought him success and allowed him to travel across Europe. In 1844, he returned to Russia, becoming an academician of the Roman and Amsterdam Academies of Arts. In Russia, he was appointed an academician of landscape painting at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and received a commission to depict Russian military ports.

In 1845, Aivazovsky embarked on a journey through Asia Minor and the Greek islands, and in the late 1860s, he visited the Caucasus and Transcaucasia. He also visited Egypt for the opening of the Suez Canal. Upon returning to Feodosia, he built a house in the Italian style, which became a private museum and gallery.

In 1848, Aivazovsky married Englishwoman Yulia Yakovlevna Grevs, with whom he had four daughters. Their marriage ended after 12 years but was officially dissolved in 1877. The artist's second wife was Armenian Anna Nikitichna Sarkisova-Burnazyan, whom he married in 1882. Anna was 40 years younger than Aivazovsky and outlived him by 44 years.

Aivazovsky passed away suddenly in his sleep at the age of 82, leaving behind many descendants and unfinished works. The city of Feodosia, to which he left an art school, museum, railway, water supply, and port, came to bid farewell to him.