Sunset at the Crimean coast 1856

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky painted this romantic vision of "Sunset at the Crimean Coast" in the 19th century. Aivazovsky, though of Armenian descent, spent most of his life in Crimea when it was a contested region between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. As a painter attached to the Russian Navy, his seascapes served a clear public role, aggrandizing imperial power through images of maritime dominance and territorial conquest. Yet the appeal of the painting goes beyond mere propaganda. Like other Romantic painters, Aivazovsky used light and color to evoke powerful emotions. The solitary figures in their small boat suggest both the sublime vastness of nature and humanity's place within it. What was the social function of art under the Tsars? By consulting historical archives, letters, and exhibition reviews, we can better understand the complex role that paintings like this played in shaping Russian national identity.