The Ninth Wave is perhaps the most impressive and well-known painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 by Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 marine painter

Marine art

Marine art or maritime art is any form of figurative art that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre particularly strong from the 17th to 19th centuries...

 Ivan Aivazovsky

Ivan Aivazovsky

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky July 29, 1817 – May 5, 1900) was a Russian world-renowned painter of Armenian descent living and working in Crimea, most famous for his seascapes, which constitute more than half of his paintings...

; it was painted in 1850

1850 in art

-Events:*Francisco Goya's engravings, Proverbios, are posthumously published.*Edouard Pingret relocates to Mexico City.-Awards:* Grand Prix de Rome, painting: William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Paul Baudry.* Grand Prix de Rome, sculpture:...

.

The painting

It depicts a sea after a night storm and people facing death attempting to save themselves by clinging to debris from a wrecked ship.

The painting has warm tones in which the sea appears to be not so menacing and giving a chance for the people to survive.

This painting is sometimes called "the most beautiful painting in Russia".

Origin of the name

Both English and Russian titles refer to the nautical tradition that waves grow larger and larger in a series up to the largest wave, the ninth (or tenth) wave, at which point the series starts again.

Where displayed

It is displayed in the Russian Museum

Russian Museum

The State Russian Museum is the largest depository of Russian fine art in St Petersburg....

 in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, http://www.artsstudio.com/reproductions/new_aivazovsky_ninth_wave-2.htm.