"The brig" Mercury ", attacked by two Turkish ships" - a painting by Ivan Aivazovsky , painted in oil in 1892 . The picture commemorates the battle of the Russian brig " Mercury " with the Turkish battleship Selimiye and Real Bey.
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| Ivan Aivazovsky | ||
| Brig "Mercury", attacked by two Turkish ships . 1892 | ||
| Oil on canvas . 221 × 339 cm | ||
| Feodosia Art Gallery named after IK Aivazovsky , Theodosius | ||
| ( inv. ) | ||
Content
History of brig with Turkish ships
The picture shows the historical episode of the victory of the Russian brig "Mercury" over the superior forces of the Turkish squadron during the patrol of the Bosphorus in the Black Sea .
The events depicted in the picture took place on May 14, 1829 , when the brig Mercury, under the command of Lieutenant-Captain A.I. Kazarsky, could not escape the pursuit due to the weak wind and was overtaken by two of the largest and fastest ships in the Turkish squadron. On one of the Turkish ships was the admiral ( Kapudan Pasha ) of the Turkish fleet and the Russian brig was forced to join the battle, having 18 guns on board against 200 enemy guns.
The decision to join the battle was made at the officers' council and was supported by the sailors of the brig. During the confrontation, which lasted two hours, Mercury managed to damage with its fire the supports supporting one of the Real Bey masts, the mast collapsed overboard, and the ship lost speed and the ability to maneuver and fight. Left alone with the other Turkish ship “Selimiye”, the Russian brig could inflict approximately the same damage as Real-Bay, the mast collapsed and the ship was forced to leave the battlefield. "Mercury" received very heavy damage, but lost only 4 people from the crew. The brig returned safely to Sevastopol .
Painting
Aivazovsky painted two pictures on this topic:
- The brig "Mercury" after the victory over two Turkish ships meets with the Russian squadron (1848)
- Brig "Mercury" attacked by two Turkish ships (1892)
Criticism
In the picture, the Aivazovsky brig is sandwiched between two Turkish ships, and the ships follow a fordevind course, which is an undoubted advantage for the battleships with their mostly straight sails . Such an alignment hardly leaves “Mercury” any chance of survival, therefore, according to a number of opinions [1] , it cannot be historically accurate. However, it is possible that such a position was chosen by the author to impart an unnecessary tragedy of the situation, to emphasize the hopelessness of the position of the brig.
In the paintings of other artists, these same ships are depicted going to the backstay , which gives the brig with a higher percentage of oblique sails a gain in maneuverability.