Description of the picture:
Sinking ship – Aivazovsky. 1854.19.5×28.8. Pencil
The gray-ultramarine palette of a cloudy, stormy day bursts into the reality with a splash of shaggy waves. A critically banked ship rushes towards us, but we understand that in the eyes of the team are sharp reefs that have already destroyed more than one ship. The remains of the ship in front are visible in the foreground of the picture. Torn sails on a broken mast merge with siso-steel waves.
Does the same fate await a ship flying a desperately tearing flag? This flag is the only colored detail in Aivazovsky’s pencil drawing. "Sinking ship". This colored stroke symbolizes a tiny chance of hope amidst a riot of elements. Everything else is monochrome – a yellow-gray sky, graphite black clouds, a lead sea, and even the silhouette of a ship.
This picture is piercingly emotional. It seems that the screams of seagulls and the roar of boiling waves burst into reality. The sea element riots, bubbles, billows up. The wind tore to pieces and drives the ship to the coastal cliffs. The picture is cold, and it seems that spray is reaching us. An incredible sense of presence – as if a window was opened into a world where a ruthless storm rules over the fate of man.
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