Moonlit Night on the Black Sea
1855 · Oil on canvas · A. V. Grigoriev Art and History Museum, Kozmodemyansk, Russia
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This print
About this work
- Artist
- Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900)
- Year
- 1855
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 47 × 58 cm
- Collection
- A. V. Grigoriev Art and History Museum, Kozmodemyansk, Russia
- Movement
- Romanticism
A full moon hangs over a calm sea, its light laid down the water in a broad shimmering path, with a sailing ship and small boats silhouetted against the glow and a dark shore at the edge of the picture. Aivazovsky painted moonlit seas throughout his career, and this small canvas, signed in the lower right, is dated 1855, the year after the Crimean War reached his home town of Feodosia. The effect of moonlight on water was his most celebrated speciality, built up with thin glazes over a light ground so that the painted light seems to come from behind the surface. The picture entered the collection of the art and history museum at Kozmodemyansk, on the Volga, in 1924, when works from Moscow's museum reserves were distributed to provincial galleries.
This full-bleed edition prints the work edge to edge from a high-resolution scan of the original, very slightly cropped (a few percent at most) to fit the sheet. The gallery edition shows the whole work, uncropped. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
A small canvas of moonlight on calm water, for a bedroom, bathroom or landing at 16×12 in black. A navy or charcoal wall lets the painted light glow; it pairs with the Pissarro and Van Gogh night scenes.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Romanticism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1855)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- bedroom, bathroom, hallway or entryway, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×12. Prints at 16×12 in — 16×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid.
Framing. Printed edge to edge: a slim black or natural wood frame right to the image, or let the canvas wrap do the framing. Also available gallery-wrapped on canvas, ready to hang with no frame.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Moonlit Night on the Black Sea in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Moonlit Night on the Black Sea painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
