Free shipping on orders over $60$5 flat rate under $604 items: 10% off · 8 items: 20% off
You save $109.97
Free shipping over $60 · 30-day returns · Dispatched in 1–2 business days
Venice 1882 - Ivan Aivazovsky - Oil Painting Wall Decor brings gallery-caliber art into everyday spaces. This seascape oil painting is a 100% hand painted oil painting on canvas, created for buyers who want genuine romantic canvas wall art instead of a mass-produced poster or paper print.
1882
Oil on canvas
71 x 108 cm (28 x 42 1/2 in.)
For an artist who excelled at the reflective effects of light on water, sails and cityscapes, it is unsurprising perhaps that in his painting Aivazovsky returned to the subject of Venice throughout his life. He was clearly drawn to this particular view of San Giorgio Maggiore and St Mark’s Square, which we find in his work as early as 1844 soon after he first visited the city in 1840 as a student of the St Petersburg Academy.
The present lot is an exceptional example, both in terms of the fine execution and the sense of depth to what is a complex composition. Unlike the majority of his Venetian views, here we find a fully worked and populated foreground on the quayside. The vignette of the orange seller and plump gentleman with his beautifully detailed parasol and rosary hanging by his side, together with the little boy and the stray oranges provides an enchanting keynote to the entire picture. A couple bargain with fruit vendors beneath an awning just beyond. These several groupings in the foreground also allow Aivazovsky to demonstrate his skill in depicting shadow, translucent material and reflected and absorbed light. The warm tones concentrated in the parasol lower right he extends across the entire painting from the lower clouds to the Doge’s Palace. The long thick brushstrokes Aivazovsky uses for the paving stones are characteristic of his foregrounds, while the light dashes of ochre on the two columns of St Mark’s Square are also pleasing hallmarks of his, more often found on the masts of his sailing ships as we note in fact in the left half of the painting.
The relative complexity of the present composition sets it apart from many of his other Venetian views which sometimes carry the two-dimensional air of a stage set, the gondolas passing each other between coulisses as it were. In the present lot, the central boat recedes down the main canal, a tug boat meeting it at an angle, the gondola passing in front in yet another plane with the fleet of large and smaller boats beyond to reinforce the sense of perspective. Together with the several diagonals in the composition, the triangular sails and canopy, there is a satisfying sense of tessellation and depth to the painting that reflects the competence of this mature artist.
By the early 1880s, Aivazovsky was long established as one of Russia’s pre-eminent painters and was in high demand at home and overseas. In 1880 he was wealthy enough to open an art museum in Theodosia on his own account; the following year he exhibited at the Pall Mall Gallery in London, where his work was admired by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema and John Everett Millais among others. Dynamic, detailed, beautifully observed and considered, the present work is certainly one of the best to appear at auction for the last decade and worth of the international acclaim he earned during his lifetime.
Our artists reproduce this seascape composition in oil on canvas by hand, preserving the tonal range that makes seascape oil painting so sought after for an entryway.
This is a genuine hand painted oil painting, not a canvas print. Our painters match the palette of Venice 1882 by eye and build up the seascape forms in thin layers, which is what gives the finished seascape oil painting its luminosity.
Hang this seascape oil painting above a sofa, console, or bed to give an entryway an instant focal point. Its romantic palette works with both minimalist and period interiors, and the piece also makes a considered gift for housewarmings, weddings, and art lovers.
Order Venice 1882 as a hand painted oil painting on canvas and add lasting romantic character to your entryway. Custom sizes, a digital proof before dispatch, and secure worldwide shipping are included.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 24 in | $109.98 |
| 24 X 36 in | $167.98 |
| 30 X 40 in | $216.48 |
| 36 X 48 in | $292.98 |
| 48 X 72 in | $554.98 |
The sizes shown are the reproduction canvas sizes we paint to order. The dimensions given in a work's description refer to the original artwork and will differ from the sizes offered here. Not sure? Read the size guide or e-mail us.
Free on orders over $60; a flat $5 below that. Dispatched in 1–2 business days; 30 days to send it back. Full policy.
Every canvas is painted by hand in oils on artist-grade stretched canvas, with an extra blank border left for framing. How to care for your painting.
Measurements are on the size guide, or e-mail [email protected] and we reply within one business day.
