Mıgırdiç Civanyan (, 1848 – February 14, 1906) was an Ottoman

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

painter.

Life

Mıgırdiç Civanyan was born in the

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

district of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1848. In 1874, he met with famed Russian-Armenian painter

Ivan Aivazovsky Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (; ) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized as Hovhannes Aivazian, he was born into an Armenian family in the Black Sea port of Feodosia in Crime ...

, whose work inspired Civanyan to incorporate much of the love for the sea into his own paintings. Already knowing Italian, Civanyan went to Italy in 1876 and remained there until 1879. Due to the

Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide a ...

of Armenians, Civanyan sought refuge in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

in the spring of 1894.

Style and Subject Matter

Mıgırdiç Civanyan is known for painting landscapes of Constantinople, especially that of the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

Gallery

File:Megerdich Jivanian - Said Paşa Waterfront Mansion - Google Art Project.jpg, Said Paşa Waterfront Mansion File:Megerdich Jivanian (from Thomas Allom) - A Coffee House in Tophane - Google Art Project.jpg, A Coffee House in Tophane File:M. Chivanyan, Sunset on the sea, 1900s.jpg, Sunset on the Sea File:Maidens Tower by Mgirdic Civanyan.jpg File:civanyanlighthouse.jpg File:Civanyansteamboat.jpg File:Civanyanbosphorus.jpg

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Civanyan, Migirdic 1848 births 1906 deaths 19th-century Armenian painters Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Painters from Istanbul Ethnic Armenian painters 19th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire Survivors of the Hamidian massacres