The “Metropolitan”  museum  in New York has again emphasized the Armenian origin of Aivazovsky.

“Aivazovsky was a famous painter of the sea, whose desire for the sea was born from his hometown, the Crimea, which was then part of the Russian Empire. As a member of the city’s Armenian community, Aivazovsky had a rich cultural and linguistic background. He worked a lot and his works were exhibited in occupied Western Armenia, Georgia, Italy, Russia and Ukraine,” reads the caption of one of the marine painter’s works.

Let’s remember that Aivazovsky’s ancestors were Galician Armenians who emigrated to Galicia from Western Armenia in the 17th century. In the register of births and baptisms of the Armenian Church of Theodosia, the artist’s birthplace, Aivazovsky’s birth is recorded as Hovhannes, son of Gevorg Ayvazyan.