Collection of paintings «Ships. Sailing vessels. Boats. Yachts»
Seascapes with ships. Docks with boats. Tranquil harbors with yachts. Sailing races. Ships in the paintings and graphics of contemporary Ukrainian artists.
Marine landscape is one of the expansive directions in painting. Starting from the 17th century, depictions of naval battles, raging waves, or steadfast sea calm began to be classified into a special genre - marine art, and artists who favored this genre, called marine artists. The grandeur and power of the sea, its beauty, and destructive force have always been seen by humans as a mystery and, simultaneously, a challenge.
The idea of capturing people who have tamed the winds and waves, the vessels they constructed, conquering the ocean expanses, and the snow-white sails, drifting into the distance, has occurred to many landscape painters. The most famous and prolific marine artists in the history of painting were William Turner and Ivan Aivazovsky. In the 18th century, images and reconstructions of famous naval battles of the past enjoyed immense popularity. Great battles of the colonization times, Anglo-Dutch wars for naval supremacy, Napoleonic and Russo-Turkish wars became themes for epic paintings. Billowing sails, cannon fire, hundreds of soldiers, the boiling sea, banners, wind, and smoke – these were the essential attributes of such paintings.
Nevertheless, artists did not neglect peaceful times either. The peace and charm of a loving couple boating or everyday scenes involving fishermen, sailors on ships, and children are often found in the works of romantics, realists, impressionists, and post-impressionists. Paintings of boats and yachts, on lakes and rivers, docked at a pier, or venturing into the open sea, are one of the ways to capture the incomparable mood that the proximity of sea gives to a person.
Contemporary Ukrainian artists, following the impressionists, strive to seize and convey in colors the beauty, mobility, and freedom of sailing boats and yachts, gliding across the water's surface. Whether it's a competition in speed or a secret rendezvous of lovers away from prying eyes, the presence of water, sky, and clouds is always paramount in paintings. Foam, splashes, the magic of the moment, mobility, and balance – the unique atmosphere of works on the marine theme.
