Hovhannes Aivazovsky beside an easel

“For me, to live means to work.” Hovhannes Aivazyan (Ivan Aivazovsky).

In the photograph the painter stands beside an easel holding a seascape with sailing ships in a carved frame. He wears a dark suit and leans with his elbow on the frame. On the right is a small carved table. In the upper right corner there is a handwritten inscription in Russian dated 1898.