A special place in Aivazovsky’s legacy is occupied by works dedicated to the exploits of the Russian fleet, which formed his unique historical chronicle, starting from the battles of the time of Peter I and ending with the contemporary events of the Crimean War of 1853-1856 and the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 for the liberation of the Balkans. Since 1844, Aivazovsky was a painter of the Main Naval Staff. On November 18, 1853, during the Crimean War of 1853-1856, a naval battle took place between the Russian and Turkish squadrons in Sinop Bay. The Turkish squadron of Osman Pasha left Constantinople for a landing operation in the Sukhum-Kale area and made a stop in Sinop Bay. The Russian Black Sea Fleet had the task of preventing active enemy actions. The squadron under the command of Vice Admiral P. S. Nakhimov (3 battleships) during cruising duty discovered the Turkish squadron and blocked it in the bay. Help was requested from Sevastopol. By the time of the battle, the Russian squadron included 6 battleships and 2 frigates, and the Turkish squadron included 7 frigates, 3 corvettes, 2 steam frigates, 2 brigs, 2 transports. The Russians had 720 guns, and the Turks - 510. As a result of the battle, which lasted 4 hours, the entire Turkish fleet (with the exception of the Taif steamship) was destroyed. The Turks lost over 3 thousand people killed and drowned, about 200 people. were captured (including the fleet commander). The Russians lost 37 people. killed and 235 wounded. With the victory in Sinop Bay, the Russian fleet gained complete dominance in the Black Sea and thwarted plans for a Turkish landing in the Caucasus.
As soon as word of the Battle of Sinop reached Aivazovsky, he immediately went to Sevastopol and asked the participants in the battle about all the circumstances of the case. Soon, two paintings by Aivazovsky were exhibited in Sevastopol, depicting the Battle of Sinop at night and during the day. These were the paintings The Naval Battle of Sinop on November 18, 1853 and the Battle of Sinop. The night after the battle.
The exhibition was visited by Admiral Nakhimov; highly appreciating Aivazovsky’s work, especially the painting The Battle of Sinop. The night after the battle. He said: “The picture is extremely well done.”
Having visited besieged Sevastopol, Aivazovsky also painted a number of paintings dedicated to the heroic defense of the city.
Calm sea. 1863.
The sea was his element. Only to him was the soul of the artist opened. Each time he stood at the easel, Aivazovsky gave free rein to his imagination. And the canvas embodied exactly what he saw in advance with his inner gaze.
Thus, Aivazovsky entered contemporary art, guided by his own laws of artistic perception of the world. The artistic thinking of the master is decorative; this is due to his childhood, his blood, his origin. Decorativeness does not at all interfere with, but contributes to Aivazovsky in his precise emotional characteristics of the depicted. The perfection of the result is achieved by the virtuosity of the most extraordinary tonal nuances. Here he has no equal, which is why he was compared to Paganini. Aivazovsky is a maestro of tone. The canons of the European school he acquired are superimposed on his natural, purely national decorative flair. This unity of two principles allows the artist to achieve such a convincing saturation of the light-air atmosphere and melodious color harmony. Perhaps it is precisely in the uniqueness of such a merger that the magical appeal of his paintings lies.
Among the waves.
The master’s long and glorious life passed in continuous communication with the sea - a symbol of freedom and space. And the sea, sometimes calm, sometimes rough or stormy, generously gave him an inexhaustible wealth of impressions. Aivazovsky painted the painting Among the Waves, which was the pinnacle of his work, when he turned 80 years old.
“Gray furious waves rush over the abyss. They are immense, rushing upward in anger, but black, leaden clouds, driven by a stormy wind, hang over the abyss, and here, as in an ominous hellish cauldron, the elements reign. The sea bubbles, seethes, foams. The crests of the shafts sparkle. Not a single living soul, not even a free bird, dares to witness the raging storm... Deserted...
Only a great artist could see and remember this truly planetary moment, when you believe in the primordial existence of our Earth. And through the roar and roar of the storm, a ray of sun breaks through with a quiet melody of joy, and somewhere in the distance a narrow strip of light glimmers” (I.V. Dolgopolov).
The artist depicted a raging element - a stormy sky and a stormy sea, covered with waves, as if boiling in a collision with one another. He abandoned the usual details in his paintings in the form of fragments of masts and dying ships, lost in the vast expanse of the sea. He knew many ways to dramatize the subjects of his paintings, but did not resort to any of them while working on this work. Among the waves, the content of the painting of the Black Sea seems to continue to reveal itself in time: if in one case the agitated sea is depicted, in the other it is already raging, at the moment of the highest formidable state of the sea element. The mastery of the painting Among the Waves is the fruit of the artist’s long and hard work throughout his life. His work on it proceeded quickly and easily. The brush, obedient to the artist’s hand, sculpted exactly the shape that the artist wanted, and laid paint on the canvas in the way that the experience of skill and the instinct of a great artist, who did not correct the stroke once laid out, told him.
Apparently, Aivazovsky himself was aware that the painting Among the Waves was significantly superior in execution to all previous works of recent years. Despite the fact that after its creation he worked for another two years, organizing exhibitions of his works in Moscow, London and St. Petersburg, he did not take this painting out of Feodosia; he bequeathed it, along with other works that were in his art gallery, to his hometown of Feodosia.
Until his old age, until the last days of his life, Aivazovsky was full of new ideas that excited him as if he were not an eighty-year-old highly experienced master who painted six thousand paintings, but a young, beginning artist who had just embarked on the path of art. The artist’s lively, active nature and preserved undullness of feelings are characterized by his answer to the question of one of his friends: which of all the paintings painted by the master himself considers the best.
“The one,” Aivazovsky answered without hesitation, “that stands on the easel in the studio, which I began to paint today...”
In his correspondence of recent years there are lines that speak of the deep excitement that accompanied his work. At the end of one large business letter in 1894 there are these words: “Sorry, I’m writing on pieces (of paper). I’m painting a big picture and I’m terribly worried.” In another letter (1899): “I have written a lot this year. 82 years make me hurry...” He was at that age when he was clearly aware that his time was running out, but he continued to work with ever-increasing energy.
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Sinking
Ship.
Speaking about the work of Aivazovsky, one cannot help but dwell on the great graphic heritage left by the master.
One of the artist’s best graphic works is the painting The Sinking Ship.
During his long life, Aivazovsky made a number of trips: he visited Italy, Paris and other European cities several times, worked in the Caucasus, sailed to the shores of Asia Minor, was in Egypt, and at the end of his life, in 1898, made a long journey to America . During his sea voyages, he enriched his observations, and drawings accumulated in his folders.
Aivazovsky always painted a lot and willingly. His drawings are of wide interest both for their artistic execution and for understanding the artist’s creative method. Among the pencil drawings, works dating back to the forties, to the time of his academic trip of 1840-1844 and sailing off the coast of Asia Minor and the Archipelago in the summer of 1845, stand out for their mature mastery.
In the 1840s, Aivazovsky worked a lot in the south of Russia, mainly in the Crimea. There he created a graphic series of marine species using the sepia technique. The artist made a light sketch of the landscape with a graphite pencil and then wrote in sepia, the brownish color of which varied subtly from saturated to light, completely transparent. To convey the shine of the water surface or sea foam, the artist often used whitewash or scratched the top layer of specially primed paper, which created an additional lighting effect. One of these works, View of the City of Nikolaev, is in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.
The drawings of this pore are harmonious in the compositional distribution of masses and are distinguished by strict elaboration of details. The large size of the sheet and graphic completeness speak of the great importance that Aivazovsky attached to drawings made from life. These were mainly images of coastal cities. Using sharp, hard graphite, Aivazovsky painted city buildings clinging to mountain ledges, receding into the distance, or individual buildings he liked, composing them into landscapes. Using the simplest graphic means - line, almost without using chiaroscuro, he achieved the subtlest effects and accurate rendering of volume and space.
The drawings he made during his travels always helped him in his creative work. In his youth, he often used drawings for the composition of paintings without any changes. Later, he freely reworked them, and often they served him only as the first impetus for the implementation of creative ideas. The second half of Aivazovsky’s life includes a large number of drawings made in a free, broad manner. In the last period of his creativity, when Aivazovsky made quick travel sketches, he began to draw freely, reproducing with a line all the curves of the form, often barely touching the paper with a soft pencil. His drawings, having lost their former graphic rigor and clarity, acquired new pictorial qualities.
As Aivazovsky's creative method crystallized and his vast creative experience and skill accumulated, a noticeable shift occurred in the artist's work process, which affected his preparatory drawings. Now he creates a sketch of a future work from his imagination, and not from a natural drawing, as he did in the early period of his creativity. Of course, Aivazovsky was not always immediately satisfied with the solution found in the sketch. There are three versions of the sketch for his last painting, “The Explosion of the Ship.” He strove for the best solution to the composition even in the drawing format: two drawings were made in a horizontal rectangle and one in a vertical one. All three are executed with a quick stroke that conveys the scheme of the composition. Such drawings seem to illustrate the words of Aivazovsky relating to the method of his work: “Having sketched with a pencil on a piece of paper the plan of the picture I have conceived, I get to work and, so to speak, devote myself to it with all my soul.” Aivazovsky's graphics enrich and expand our usual understanding of his work and his unique method of work. For graphic works, Aivazovsky used a variety of materials and techniques.
A number of finely painted watercolors done in one color - sepia - date back to the sixties. Using usually a light fill of the sky with highly diluted paint, barely outlining the clouds, barely touching the water, Aivazovsky laid out the foreground in a broad, dark tone, painted the mountains in the background and painted a boat or ship on the water in a deep sepia tone. With such simple means, he sometimes conveyed all the charm of a bright sunny day at sea, the rolling of a transparent wave onto the shore, the radiance of light clouds over the deep sea. In terms of the height of skill and subtlety of the conveyed state of nature, such sepia by Aivazovsky go far beyond the usual idea of watercolor sketches.
In 1860, Aivazovsky wrote a similar kind of beautiful sepia “The Sea after the Storm.” Aivazovsky was apparently satisfied with this watercolor, since he sent it as a gift to P.M. Tretyakov. Aivazovsky widely used coated paper, drawing on which he achieved virtuoso skill. Such drawings include "The Tempest", created in 1855. The drawing is made on paper tinted in the upper part with a warm pink color and in the lower part with a steel-gray color. Using various techniques of scratching the tinted chalk layer, Aivazovsky conveyed well the foam on the wave crests and the reflections on the water. Aivazovsky also drew masterfully with pen and ink.
View of the city of Nikolaev. 1843. Fragment.
Chesme fight. 1848.
The Battle of Chesma is one of the most glorious and heroic pages in the history of the Russian fleet. Aivazovsky was not, and could not have been, a witness to the event that took place on the night of June 26, 1770. But how convincingly and reliably he reproduced the picture of a naval battle on his canvas. Ships explode and burn, fragments of masts fly up to the sky, flames rise, and scarlet-gray smoke mixes with the clouds through which the moon looks at what is happening. Its cold and calm light only emphasizes the hellish mixture of fire and water on the sea. It seems that the artist himself, when creating the picture, experienced the rapture of the battle, where the Russian sailors won a brilliant victory. Therefore, despite the ferocity of the battle, the picture leaves a major impression and resembles a grandiose fireworks display. The plot for this work was an episode of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. For decades, Russia waged wars with Turkey for possession of the Black and Mediterranean seas. Two Russian squadrons that left Kronstadt, after a long journey across the Baltic, passed the English Channel, rounded the shores of France and Portugal, passed Gibraltar and entered the Mediterranean Sea. Here they met the Turkish fleet, which was then considered the strongest in the world. After several military skirmishes, the Turkish raft took refuge in Chesme Bay in panic. Russian ships blocked the exit from the bay and during the night battle almost completely burned and destroyed the Turkish fleet. 11 sailors died on the Russian side, and 10,000 on the Turkish side.
This was a victory unprecedented in the history of naval battles. A medal was knocked out in memory of her, Count Alexei Orlov, who commanded the squadrons, received the title of Chesme, and in Tsarskoe Selo Catherine II ordered the erection of a monument to this battle - the Chesme Column. It still stands proudly in the middle of the Big Pond. Its marble trunk is completed by an allegorical sculpture - a double-headed eagle breaking a marble crescent.
A painter of the Main Naval Staff (since 1844), Aivazovsky took part in a number of military campaigns (including the Crimean War of 1853-1856), creating many pathetic battle paintings.
Aivazovsky's painting of the forties and fifties is marked by the strong influence of the romantic traditions of K.P. Bryullov, which affected not only the painting skill, but also the very understanding of art and Aivazovsky’s worldview. Like Bryullov, he strives to create grandiose colorful canvases that can glorify Russian art. Aivazovsky has in common with Bryullov his brilliant painting skills, virtuosic technique, speed and courage of execution. This was very clearly reflected in one of the early battle paintings, the Battle of Chesma, written by him in 1848, dedicated to an outstanding naval battle. In the same year, 1848, Aivazovsky painted the painting The Battle of the Chios Strait, which together with the Battle of Chesme formed a kind of diptych pair glorifying the victories of the Russian fleet.
After the Battle of Chesma took place in 1770, Orlov, in his report to the Admiralty Board, wrote: “...Honor to the All-Russian Fleet. From June 25 to 26, the enemy fleet (we) attacked, smashed, broke, burned, sent to heaven, into ashes converted... and they themselves began to dominate the entire archipelago..." The pathos of this report, pride in the outstanding feat of the Russian sailors, the joy of the victory achieved was perfectly conveyed by Aivazovsky in his film. When we first look at the picture, we are overcome with a feeling of joyful excitement, as if from a festive spectacle - a brilliant fireworks display. And only with a detailed examination of the picture does the plot side of it become clear. The battle is depicted at night. In the depths of the bay, burning ships of the Turkish fleet are visible, one of them at the moment of the explosion. Covered in fire and smoke, the wreckage of the ship flies into the air, turning into a huge blazing fire. And on the side, in the foreground, the flagship of the Russian fleet rises in a dark silhouette, to which, saluting, a boat with the crew of Lieutenant Ilyin, who blew up his fire-ship among the Turkish flotilla, approaches. And if we come closer to the picture, we will discern the wreckage of Turkish ships on the water with groups of sailors calling for help, and other details.
Aivazovsky was the last and most prominent representative of the romantic movement in Russian painting, and these features of his art were especially evident when he painted sea battles full of heroic pathos; in them one could hear that “music of battle”, without which the battle picture is devoid of emotional impact.
The Battle of Sinop in 1853 immortalized the glory of Russian sailors. It was thanks to him that the West started talking about the power of the Russian fleet.
The Battle of Sinop, which became the last battle of the sailing fleets, is called the “swan song of the sailing fleet.” In honor of this victory of Russian sailors in the Crimean War, December 1 was declared the Day of Military Glory of Russia. In the battle between the Russian and Turkish squadrons, all but one of the Turkish ships were destroyed. The Russian fleet did not suffer any losses.
Map of the battle of the Sinop raid. 11/30/1853
The English press assessed the actions of the Russian sailors very negatively, calling the battle the “Sinop Massacre.” There was even false information that the Russians were shooting Turks in the water as they tried to escape from sinking ships. Ultimately, the events of November 30 prompted Great Britain and France to enter the war (in March 1854) on the side of the Ottoman Empire.
In the battle on the roadstead of the Turkish port of Sinop, they managed to defeat the enemy in just 4 hours - that’s how long the battle lasted. It all started with the fact that Russian patrol ships discovered Turkish ships in Sinop Bay. They intended to transfer forces to the Caucasus - to Sukhumi and Poti. The commander of the Russian fleet, Admiral Pavel Nakhimov, ordered to block the exit from the bay and call for reinforcements from Sevastopol. The squadron in two columns, one of which was led by Nakhimov, the second by Rear Admiral Fyodor Novosilsky, entered the bay. Under heavy enemy fire, Russian ships approached the Turkish ships and only from a distance of 300 meters, with precise broadside salvos, they destroyed all the ships of Osman Pasha. Only one was able to leave the bay, break away from pursuit, reach Istanbul and report the collapse of the squadron. The Turkish admiral was captured, his broadsword is still kept in the Sevastopol Museum. Enemy losses amounted to more than 3,000 killed and wounded. On the Russian side, 38 sailors were killed and a little more than 200 were wounded.
I.K. Aivazovsky. Russian ships in the Battle of Sinop. 1853
The Turks had a numerical advantage - 16 ships against 8 Russian ships. True, they did not have a single line gun, which gave a total of 500 guns, versus 720 for the Russians, who had 6 battleships. And even the help of 38 coast guard guns did not save the Turkish fleet from destruction. It is worth adding that the Russians were the first to use 68-pound bomb guns, which fired explosive shells. It was this weapon that largely determined such a brilliant victory for Russia. A salvo from bomb cannons could send any ship existing at that time to the bottom. The use of such weapons was virtually the end for classic sailing wooden warships.
I.K. Aivazovsky. 120-gun ship "Paris"
Admiral Nakhimov commanded the battle from the ship Empress Maria. The flagship suffered the most - it was literally bombarded by enemy cannonballs, and most of the masts and spars were destroyed. Nevertheless, the Empress Maria moved forward, crushing Turkish ships along the way. Approaching the Turkish flagship Auni Allah, the Russian flagship anchored and fought for half an hour. As a result, the Auni Allah caught fire and washed ashore. After this, the Empress Maria defeated another Turkish frigate, the Fazi Allah, and went to battle with the fifth battery.
Other ships also distinguished themselves in battle. During the battle, Nakhimov usually expressed gratitude to the sailors for a good battle. This time he liked the actions of the battleship Paris. While anchored, the ship opened battle fire on the corvette Guli-Sefid and the frigate Damiad. Having blown up the corvette and thrown the frigate ashore, it struck the frigate Nizamiye with fire, the ship drifted to the shore and soon caught fire. The commander ordered to signal his gratitude to the team, but the signal towers on the flagship were broken. Then he sent a boat with sailors, who personally conveyed the admiral’s gratitude to the sailors of the Paris.
Having ended the battle, the ships of the Russian fleet began to repair the damage, and two days later they weighed anchor to proceed to Sevastopol. Around noon on December 4, amid general rejoicing, they victoriously entered the Sevastopol roadstead. Admiral Nakhimov, who achieved this brilliant victory, died a year and a half later during the siege of Sevastopol.
A.D. Kivshenko. The deck of the battleship "Empress Maria" during the battle of Sinope. . 1853
The Battle of Sinop immortalized Russian sailors in history. It was thanks to him that the West started talking about the power of the Russian fleet. In addition, this naval battle became one of the most striking examples of the complete destruction of the enemy fleet at its own base.
A.P. Bogolyubov. Battle of Sinop
Having learned about the victory at Sinop, the famous marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky immediately left for Sevastopol, where the ships of the Black Sea Fleet returned. The artist asked about all the details of the battle, about the location of the ships, and about the fact that Nakhimov started the battle “at the closest distance.” Having collected the necessary information, the artist painted two paintings - “Battle of Sinop during the day”, about the beginning of the battle, and “Battle of Sinop at night” - about its victorious end and the defeat of the Turkish fleet. “The paintings are extremely well done,” said Admiral Nakhimov, the hero of Sinop, about them.
Text: Sergey Balakin
162 years ago, on November 30, 1853 (November 18, old style), the famous Battle of Sinop took place, considered one of the largest naval victories in the history of our country. The words of Vice Admiral Kornilov are widely known, who said about the battle of Sinop: “The battle is glorious, higher than Chesma and Navarino... Hurray, Nakhimov! Lazarev rejoices at his student!” And Emperor Nicholas I awarded Vice Admiral Nakhimov the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, and wrote in a personal rescript: “By the extermination of the Turkish squadron, you decorated the chronicle of the Russian fleet with a new victory, which will forever remain memorable in naval history.” However, these enthusiastic assessments are dominated by emotions. In reality, the results of the Battle of Sinop are far from clear...
Historians know two opposing views on the Battle of Sinop. According to one of them, this battle is the greatest and indisputable victory of our fleet. But there is another point of view: they say that Sinop is a skillfully placed trap into which the clumsy “Russian bear” fell, and which predetermined the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War. Let's try to analyze the arguments of both sides.
At first glance, everything seems obvious. On November 18 (old style), 1853, a Russian squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Nakhimov, consisting of six battleships and two frigates, entered Sinop Bay and defeated the squadron of Osman Pasha stationed there. Of the twelve Turkish warships, eleven were sunk, 2,700 enemy sailors were killed, more than 550 were wounded and 150, including Osman Pasha himself, were captured. Our losses were 38 killed, 232 wounded; all ships, despite the damage received, returned to Sevastopol on their own.
Such impressive results are explained, first of all, by the quantitative and qualitative superiority of our fleet over its enemy. For example, in terms of the total weight of a broadside salvo, the Russian squadron was two and a half times larger than the Turkish one. Moreover, the Russian ships were armed with 76 heavy 68-pound guns that fired explosive bombs, deadly for wooden ships. If we also add that the training of personnel in the Turkish fleet was extremely poor, then Admiral Nakhimov could only wisely use all his advantages. Which he did, and he did it brilliantly. Figuratively speaking, the Battle of Sinop put an end to the centuries-old history of sailing fleets and anticipated the onset of a new era - the era of armor and steam.
It is not surprising that a triumphant meeting awaited Nakhimov in Sevastopol. At that moment, few people thought about how this victory would turn out for Russia...
On the eve of the Crimean War, the weakened Ottoman Empire found itself completely dependent on the Western powers - primarily on England. The strained relations between St. Petersburg and Constantinople led to Nicholas I ordering troops to be sent to Bessarabia and Wallachia. These principalities formally remained vassals of Turkey, and Sultan Abdul-Mecid declared war on Russia on October 4, 1853. At the same time, he counted on military assistance promised by London and Paris. It should be borne in mind that the British were quite happy with the existing state of the Ottoman Empire, but they sought to prevent the strengthening of Russia. Therefore, British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston openly stated that in the event of an attack by the Russian fleet on Turkish ports, England and France would use force against the “aggressor.” But in St. Petersburg they clearly underestimated the seriousness of this threat.
The decision to attack the Turkish squadron in Sinop was extremely risky. After all, it gave the West an excellent reason to “teach a lesson” to the unyielding Russian emperor, whose foreign policy London really did not like. In general, the thought involuntarily arises that the Sinop massacre was planned in advance and not without the participation of English advisers. After all, the most combat-ready Turkish ships, including all the battleships, and almost all experienced sailors remained in the Bosphorus. A squadron of weak and outdated ships was sent to Sinop, moreover, staffed with inexperienced recruits - yesterday's peasants. The presence of ground forces on Osman Pasha's squadron, allegedly transported to the Caucasus (this was repeatedly mentioned in various publications), is not confirmed by documents. That is, everything suggests that the squadron destroyed in Sinop was just a bait, obviously sent for slaughter...
Well, what happened next is well known. A coalition of Western states (Great Britain, France and the Kingdom of Sardinia) declare war on Russia. The Anglo-French fleet enters the Black Sea and troops land in Balaklava. Then - the battle on Alma, the siege of Sevastopol, the self-sinking of the Black Sea Fleet, the death of admirals Nakhimov, Kornilov, Istomin... The Paris Congress, at which Russia admitted its defeat... By the way, in the ranks of the anti-Russian coalition under the flags of the Zaporozhye Sich, the “Slavic Legion” marched under the command of Mikhail Tchaikovsky, or Sadyk Pasha, as the Turks called him...
So, what is the Battle of Sinop? In our opinion, his most balanced assessment looks like this: in tactical terms, this is an indisputable military victory, in strategic terms, this is a blunder that led to Russia’s defeat in the war. However, this is by no means a mistake of Russian sailors or Admiral Nakhimov. This was a mistake of the then Russian politicians and diplomats, who in the field of intrigue were unable to resist their sophisticated colleagues from London and Paris.
We must not forget about one more result of the Battle of Sinop - the moral effect it produced. The defeat of the Turkish squadron caused an unprecedented rise in morale among Russian soldiers, sailors and officers. Without this, the subsequent defense of Sevastopol would hardly have been so stubborn, and the losses of the attackers would have been so great.
So the Russian fleet can rightfully be proud of the Sinop victory.
The small Turkish port city of Sinop lies on the narrow isthmus of the Bostepe-Burun Peninsula on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It has an excellent harbor, which is especially important because on this coast of the large Anatolian (Asia Minor) Peninsula there is no other equally convenient and calm bay. The main naval battle of the Crimean War of 1853–1856 took place near Sinop on November 18 (30), 1853.
After Russia declared war on Turkey (1853), Vice Admiral Nakhimov with the ships "Empress Maria", "Chesma" and "Rostislav" was sent by the head of all Russian troops in Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to cruise to the shores of Anatolia. Passing near Sinop, Nakhimov saw a detachment of Turkish ships in the bay under the protection of coastal batteries and decided to closely blockade the port in order to attack the enemy with the arrival of the ships “Svyatoslav” and “Brave” from Sevastopol. The weather was gloomy, rainy, with a fresh easterly wind and quite strong waves from the nor'easter. Despite this, the squadron stayed very close to the shore in order to prevent the Turks from leaving Sinop for Constantinople (Istanbul) at night.
On November 16, the squadron of Rear Admiral Novosilsky (120-gun ships Paris, Grand Duke Constantine and Three Saints, frigates Kagul and Kulevchi) joined Nakhimov’s detachment. The next day, Nakhimov invited the ship commanders to the flagship (Empress Maria) and told them the plan for the upcoming battle with the enemy fleet. It was decided to attack in two columns: in the 1st, closest to the enemy, the ships of Nakhimov’s detachment, in the 2nd – Novosilsky; The frigates had to watch the enemy ships under sail. The anchors were ordered to be dropped with springs (cables that make it easier to hold the ship in a given position) as close to the enemy as possible, with ropes and cables at the ready. Consular houses and the city of Sinop itself were supposed to be spared, hitting only ships and batteries.
Battle of Sinop 1853. Plan
On the morning of November 18, 1853, it was raining with gusty winds from east-south-east, the most unfavorable for the capture of enemy ships (broken, they could easily wash ashore). At half past nine in the morning, keeping the rowing vessels at the sides of the ships, the Russian squadron headed for the roadstead. In the depths of the Sinop Bay, 7 Turkish frigates and 3 corvettes were located in a moon-shaped manner, under the cover of 4 batteries (one with 8 guns, three with 6 guns each); Behind the battle line there were 2 steamships and 2 transports.
At half past one day, upon the first shot from the 44-gun frigate Aunni-Allah, fire was opened on the Russians from all enemy ships and batteries. The ship "Empress Maria" was bombarded with cannonballs and knipels (shells for destroying masts and sails). Most of its spars (devices for controlling the sails) and standing rigging were broken; only 1 shroud of the mainmast remained intact. However, this ship moved forward non-stop and, using battle fire against enemy ships, dropped anchor against the frigate Aunni-Allah. Unable to withstand even a half-hour battle, he jumped ashore. Then our flagship turned its fire exclusively on the 44-gun frigate Fazli-Allah, which soon caught fire and also jumped onto land.
Battle of Sinop. Painting by I. Aivazovsky, 1853
After this, the actions of the ship "Empress Maria" in the Battle of Sinop were concentrated on battery No. 5. The ship "Grand Duke Konstantin", anchored, opened heavy fire on battery No. 4 and the 60-gun frigates "Navek-Bahri and "Nesimi-Zefer" . The first was exploded 20 minutes after the opening of fire, showering debris and bodies on Battery No. 4, which then almost ceased to operate. The second one was thrown ashore by the wind when its anchor chain was broken. The ship "Chesma" destroyed batteries No. 4 and 3 with its shots. The ship "Paris", standing at anchor, directed battle fire at battery No. 5, the corvette "Guli-Sefid" (22-gun) and the frigate "Damiad" (56-gun cannon). Having blown up the corvette and thrown the frigate ashore, he began to hit the 64-gun frigate Nizamiye, the foremast and mizzen masts of the latter were shot down, and the ship itself drifted to the shore, where it soon caught fire. Then the “Paris” again began to fire at battery No. 5. Nakhimov, delighted with the actions of this ship, ordered to express his gratitude to him right during the battle, but there was nothing to raise the corresponding signal: all the halyards were broken. The ship "Three Saints" entered into battle with the frigates "Kaidi-Zefer" (54-gun) and "Nizamiye". The first shots of the Turks at the “Three Saints” interrupted the spring. Turning into the wind, this Russian ship was subjected to well-aimed longitudinal fire from Battery No. 6, which severely damaged its mast. But, having turned the stern again, the “Three Saints” began to act very successfully against the “Kaidi-Zepher” and other enemy ships, forcing them to rush to the shore. The ship "Rostislav", concentrating fire on battery No. 6 and the 24-gun corvette "Feize-Meabud", threw the corvette ashore.
At half past one o'clock in the afternoon, the Russian steamship-frigate "Odessa" appeared from behind the cape, flying the flag of Admiral General Kornilov, accompanied by the steamships "Crimea" and "Khersones". These ships immediately took part in the Battle of Sinop, which, however, was already nearing its end, since the Turkish forces were exhausted. Batteries No. 5 and 6 continued to harass our ships until 4 o’clock, but “Paris” and “Rostislav” soon destroyed them. Meanwhile, the rest of the enemy ships, apparently set on fire by their crews, took off one after another. This caused a fire to spread in the city of Sinop, and there was no one to put it out.
Battle of Sinop
Among the prisoners was the head of the Turkish squadron, Vice Admiral Osman Pasha, and two ship commanders. At the end of the Battle of Sinop, Russian ships began to repair damage to the rigging and spars, and on the morning of November 20, they weighed anchor to proceed to Sevastopol in tow by steamers. Beyond Cape Sinop, the squadron encountered a large swell from the northeast, so the steamships were forced to give up tugs. At night the wind became stronger, and the ships set sail. On November 22, 1853, around noon, the victorious Russian ships entered the Sevastopol roadstead with general jubilation.
The victory in the Battle of Sinop had very important consequences for the course of the Crimean War: it freed the Caucasian Black Sea coast of Russia from the danger of a Turkish landing.
Perhaps the main place in Aivazovsky’s creative heritage is occupied by paintings that the artist dedicated to the heroic exploits of the Russian fleet. Based on the paintings of the master of battle, one can perhaps compile a kind of chronicle of the history of the Russian fleet. It can begin with the battles of the times of Peter I, and end with the events that the artist experienced during his lifetime, namely, the Crimean War of 1853-56 and the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78, in which Russia fought for the liberation of the Balkans.
The Russian Naval Headquarters made Aivazovsky their painter in 1844. YOU during the Crimean War of 1853-56 in Sinolpa Bay, on November 18, 1853, a naval battle took place between the squadrons of Russia and Turkey. The squadron of the Turkish ruler Osman Pasha, leaving Constantinople for the battle in Sukhum-Kala. Stopped for a while in Sinop Bay. The task of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was to hinder the enemy and not give him the opportunity to take active action. The Russian Black Sea squadron was commanded by Vice Admiral P.S. Nakhimov. Conducting a raid on cruising duty, the squadron, which included three battleships, discovered a Turkish squadron hidden in the bay, blocked its exit, and blocked it. A request for support was sent to Sevastopol. At the time of this battle, the Russian squadron consisted of only six battleships and two frigates. The Turkish flotilla included seven frigates, two frigate steamships, three corvettes, two transports and two brigs. The Russian ships were equipped with 720 guns, and the Turkish fleet had 510 guns. The battle that started in Sinop Bay lasted 4 hours, as a result almost the entire Turkish fleet (except for the Taif steamer) was completely destroyed. In this battle, the Turks lost more than 3,000 people drowned and killed, approximately 200 people were captured, including the commander of the Turkish fleet. On the part of the Russian flotilla, there were much fewer killed, only 37 people, and 235 wounded.
As a result of the victory in Sinop Bay, the Russian fleet gained dominance in the waters of the Black Sea and managed to break the plans of the Turks to land troops in the Caucasus.
Having learned about what happened, Aivazovsky urgently went to Sevastopol to recreate the picture of the battle from the words of eyewitnesses. Very soon, two works by Aivazovsky dedicated to the Battle of Sinop were exhibited in Sevastopol. Admiral Nakhimov, who visited the exhibition, highly appreciated the artist’s works and said that they convey the events very accurately.