Ivan Aivazovsky seascapes are striking for their dual display of natural beauty and ferocity. Aivazosky shows the sea’s turbulence as equally threatening and awe-inspiring forcing the viewer to consider the sea’s and ultimately nature’s superior power. The human figures in the selected paintings are small and seemingly insignificant compared to the grand natural scenery. Specifically, in The Ninth Wave and The Rainbow the human figure is seen being controlled by the natural environment and in dire circumstance: the sea is in control.
Specifically, in The Rainbow the beauty of the seascape is used as a veil to hide the eventual doom of the lifeboat. In the distance a ship is seen moments before capsizing and crashing into the shore, and in the foreground a group of thirteen men man a crammed and crowded lifeboat. The painting is particularly lightly colored, fogged in light blues and purples showing signs of the calm after the storm, indicating a sense of safety rather than distress. The large swells of the ocean, however, indicate different. With the gunwales of the life boat close to the water and large waves close behind, the small boat is most likely doomed to the same fate as the larger boat in the distance. The specific choice of warmer colors and the inclusion of the rainbow disguise the danger of the natural landscape and instead falsely indicate a certain safety and control of the men in the lifeboat over the natural landscape.
The thirteen men within the ship allude to Jesus and the twelve disciples on the Sea of Galilee. In this biblical story, although the disciples are distressed because of the storm, Jesus remains asleep, his faith un-shook by natures forces. The men on the boat in the painting seem unfazed by the storm. A Jesus like figure appears confident standing near the bow of the boat. The close viewer recognizes that this confidence is misplaced for the boat will eventually crash.
Perhaps Aivazovsky is using the natural symbolism of the rainbow in the light colors and the allusion to Jesus on the Sea of Galilee to remind the viewer of our false sense of control over the natural environment, specifically the sea. Regardless of faith, the boat will crash, nature will win.