Moonlight Landscape in Naples

Ivan Aivazovsky, a landscape painter from southern Ukraine, remains among the most internationally renowned Russian artists. Following his studies at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (1833–38), he initially travelled on a scholarship to paint the nature and seaside towns of his home region of Crimea. Aivazovsky painted Moonlight Landscape in Naples during a four-year study trip to Southern Europe.

Known as a painter of seascapes, Aivazovsky is considered a representative of the Romantic style, although in his later production he took a step towards Realism. Aivazovsky is known to have painted in his studio from memory, based on quickly drawn sketches. Coloured by his imagination, he transferred the views to the canvas with confident brushstrokes. Aivazovsky's production is remarkably extensive, with more than 6,000 paintings and countless drawings.

Moonlight Landscape in Naples is one of numerous variations on the theme. A work on the same subject, with its authentic movements of water and reflections of moonlight, inspired the famous landscape painter William Turner to write an Italian sonnet for Aivazovsky. It is the precisely skilful imitation of nature, combined with lyricism, that has brought to Aivazovsky’s art many admirers and imitators.