Ukrainian Landscape at Night 1870

Ivan Aivazovsky painted this Ukrainian Landscape at Night using oil on canvas. The artist was born in Crimea, so you might say that Ukraine was his backyard. Here we see the landscape bathed in moonlight. In the 19th century, the Russian empire was expanding and incorporating new territories into its sphere. Ukraine was one of these, and the country was undergoing a process of Russification, designed to assimilate Ukrainians into Russian culture and society. One strategy was to create images of Ukraine as a peaceful, bucolic land, far from any political turmoil. Aivazovsky often created idealized landscapes, which may reflect the politics of the time. We can see evidence of that in the harmony of the scene before us, and its gentle, unassuming light. Looking at works like this through the lens of social history reminds us that art never exists in a vacuum. To fully appreciate it, we need to consider the world in which it was created.