Ivan Aivazovsky. "Manoeuvres of the Black Sea Fleet in 1850"

In this late painting Ivan Aivazovsky returned to an event he had witnessed himself. A squadron of the Black Sea Fleet, twelve ships of the line and frigates under full sail, heads straight towards the viewer as it puts to sea to meet the paddle frigate "Vladimir", which is carrying Emperor Nicholas I to Sevastopol.

The upper deck of the "Vladimir" is seen at lower right. At the bulwark stand the emperor in army uniform, Rear Admiral Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich, Admiral Mikhail Lazarev, chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet and ports, the fleet's chief of staff Rear Admiral Vladimir Kornilov and the squadron commander Rear Admiral Pavel Nakhimov. In the distance Sevastopol spreads across the slopes of the shore. Aivazovsky was on board the "Vladimir" among the emperor's companions and painted the picture from memory many years later. Many of the ships shown later took part in the Battle of Sinop, and during the defence of Sevastopol in the Crimean War they were scuttled by their own crews in the roadstead.

The canvas, painted in oil in 1886, was shown at the Academy of Arts in St Petersburg, where it quickly became popular. It was later acquired by the Kavkaz and Merkury Society for its chairman, Senator A. P. Zhandr, a veteran of the Crimean War.