French Ships Departing the Black Sea 1871

Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky painted "French Ships Departing the Black Sea" in 1871. This canvas, like so many of Aivazovsky's, is a remarkable feat of light and color, depicting a moment of maritime activity. But let's consider the date. 1871: just after the Franco-Prussian War. The Crimean War, which ended in 1856, had opened up the Black Sea to foreign navies, including the French. Aivazovsky, as court painter to the Romanovs, had a keen sense of political winds. In this image, are we seeing a simple record of French ships, or a statement about shifting power dynamics in the region? Is it an elegy for French power? Or a celebration of Russian dominance? As historians, we turn to sources -- diplomatic records, personal letters, news accounts -- to get a fuller sense of the complex, and shifting, relationship between Russia and France in the 19th century. Only then can we understand the painting's possible meanings within its specific historical moment.