Hanzen Alexei

Hanzen Aleksey Vilgelmovich (Vasilievich)
(1876, Odessa – 1937, Dubrovnik, Croatia)

Aleksey Vilgelmovich (Vasilievich) Hanzen is Russian painter, author of lyrical landscapes of Crimea and Europe. He is known as a singer of Russian Navy and a rare connoisseur of stories of military shipbuilding. The artist enjoyed tremendous success of the public as a painter of seascapes and battle. In addition, he wrote the masterly watercolors, working mostly in small format.

One of the three who became artists, grandchildren of I.K. Aivazovsky, A.V. Hanzen is the son of his second daughter, Maria Ivanovna Aivazovskaya (in marriage Hanzen). He studied at the 2nd pro-gymnasium of Odessa, then in Rishelievskaya Gymnasium in Odessa. In 1900 graduated from Legal Faculty of Novorossiysk (now Odessa) University with a diploma of II degree. Wishing to devote himself to painting, the future painter went to study in Munich to Ezhi Brecht. A Hanzen graduated the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin and Dresden, where he was studied for marine and landscape painting in class of Professor Carl Salzmann and Paul Meyergeym. The artist has participated in the Great Exhibition of Berlin (1903), the Fair Association southern artists in Odessa and Spring exhibition in the halls of the Academy of Fine Arts (1898-1904). After a trip to Italy, he moved to Paris where he continued to learn painting at Anthony Robert-Fleury and Jules Lefebvre, “under the influence of which has created his own style of seascape featuring its individuality”.

A. Hanzen was a member of many art societies abroad, including the Russian community of artists in Paris. This artist’s recognition abroad came in 1908 when the French Republic has acquired his painting “After the Storm” (“Calm after the storm”), which was subsequently presented by France to Madrid.In late 1909 A. Hanzen traveled to the Crimea and to the Caucasus. In spring 1910 he has opened an exhibition of his works in galleries “Internazional art Gallery” in Paris.

Since 1910, A. Hanzen was grasped with the idea of creating of the first in the south Russia Art Museum in Odessa on the model and the similarity of the gallery set up by his grandfather, I. K. Aivazovsky. In his collection except works of I. Aivazovsky, M. Vrubel, N. Roerich, I. Brodsky, and other Russian artists were, and etchings of Rembrandt.

Since 1914 A. Hanzen lives in St. Petersburg, then in his estate Roman-Ely, near the Old Crimea presented by I. K. Aivazovsky to his second daughter, Mary. During the First World War, the artist wrote battle scenes, which are reproduced in the magazine “Ogonek”, “Niva”, “The Sun of Russia”, “Annals of the war”, etc.

In 1914-1915 War Office became his main client. In 1915, with the highest order of the Navy and Marine Department of the ranks of civil, Aleksey Hanzen was transferred to serve in the navy Department, with the appointment be for the admiralty.

In January 1920, Aleksey Hanzen and his wife Olympiada Vladimirovna left the Russia and, through Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Legkovats arrived in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In November 1920 in Zagreb was held the first exhibition of his works.

In 20-s A. Hanzen exhibited in Prague, Rome, Bucharest, Rio de Janeiro and twice in Buenos-Aires. In July of 1929 in Paris at the Georges Pti Gallery was the second solo exhibition of A. Hanzen, which received many enthusiastic responses.

During his life A. G. Hanzen wrote more than 3000 large canvases, and the remaining work can not be taken into account. Among them there are graceful lovely miniature, delicate watercolor and sepia. Works by this artist were known and loved with the whole country.

According to his contemporaries Aleksey Hanzen was a highly educated European, was painting in truth and with enormous impact, working hard on his paintings from young years till his death.