AIVAZOVSKII, Ivan Konstantinovitch, Russian painter: b. Feodociya 1817; d. 1900. From his earliest years he showed a remark able talent for painting. Koch, the architect of his native town, discovered his gift and also gave him a few private lessons in perspective and architectural designing. Thanks to the influence of Koch and some other friends Aivazovskii succeeded in entering (1833) the Academy of Fine Arts where he learned the art of aquarelles from Philippe Tonneur. His first work, which attracted general attention, was the 'Study of Air above the Sea' (1835) for which he was awarded a silver medal. Henceforth Aivazovskii pursued exclusively this field of painting and, in order to acquire adequate impressions of light on the nature of the sea, he sailed extensively over the Gulf of Finland and the Black Sea. His extraordinary memory helped him to retain and reproduce with great vigor and fullness the most singular moments at sea, hence there is a complete absence of monotony or repetition in his works. He traveled extensively through Italy, France, Germany and England where his fame as a sea painter was already well established by his remarkable paintings made in Rome: 'Neapoli tan Night,' Storn0 and 'Chais.' The 'Boat of the Tcherkessian Pirates,' (Stillness on the and 'Island of Capri) won prizes at the Exposition of Paris (1843) and gained him the title of academician. In 1857 at the Exposition of Paris, he was awarded the order of the Legion d'Honneur for his remark able 'The Four Wealths of Russia.' Of his later paintings the best known are: 'Universal Deluge' ; 'The Moment of the Creation of the World' (1864) ; 'The Chain of Caucasian For (1871). At the Exposition in Florence the Academy of Fine Arts there asked him to paint his own portrait for the gallery in the Palazzo Pitti where are kept portraits of the most celebrated painters of the Renaissance. At the time of the Russo-Turkish war 1877 Aivazovskii painted a new series of episodes and in 1880 there was held an exposition of his works illustrating different episodes from the life of Columbus. On 20 Sept. 1887 Aivazov skii celebrated his 50th jubilee on which oc casion he presented the Saint Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts with 'Pushkin on the Sea-Shore' painted in co-operation with L. E. Ryspyny.
AIX, ales, France, town and capital of an arrondissement, department of Bouches-du Rhone, 17 miles by rail north of Marseilles. Its interest is chiefly historical. It was the 'Aqua' Sextim)— Baths of Sextius— founded 123 B.C. by the Roman consul Sextius Calvinus around the thermal sulphurous springs. In the Middle Ages it was the capital of Provence and became a great seat of learning, renowned for its faculties of law and theology. Both baths and university under modern develop ment continue their usefulness; and fine his torical and modern buildings attract the atten tion, notably the cathedral dating from the 11th century, and the archiepiscopal palace. Pop. 20,000; including suburbs, 30,000.
ass, or ix-la-sha per (German, Aachen; Latin, Civitas Aquensis, Aquisgranum), capital of a district of the same name in the Prussian province of the Rhine, 38 miles west by south of Cologne; pop. 156,150.
It is a well-built town, pleasantly situated in a fine vale watered by the Wurm, and surrounded by the Venn Hills. It was formerly surrounded by ramparts, but these have been converted into pleasant promenades. The town-house (built in 1353 on the ruins of Charlemagne's palace) contains the coronation room with portraits of the German emperors, half-size portraits of Napoleon and the Empress Josephine, painted by David, and many relics of old German art. The nave of the cathedral, erected by Charle magne as a palace chapel between 796 and 804, was rebuilt on the old model by Otho III in 983, after having been almost destroyed by the Normans. It consists of an octagon, sur rounded by a 16-sided gallery, and terminating in a cupola. The Gothic choir was begun in 1353 and finished in 1413; it is of prodigious height (114 feet) and lightness, and the large windows are filled with stained glass. Besides the tomb of Charlemagne, the cathedral con tains many relics, the most sacred of which such as the robes worn by the Virgin at the Nativity, the swaddling-cloths of the infant Jesus, the scarf He wore at the crucifixion, etc. — are shown only once in seven years, and at tract many thousands of pilgrims from all countries. As the chief station of the Belgo Rhenish Railway, which connects it with Ant werp, Ostend and Cologne, Aix-la-Chapelle affords an extensive mart to the commerce of Prussia ; it is also a grain market for Belgium, and the seat of commercial and other courts. Electric street railroads connect with handsome suburbs and neighboring towns. Aix-la-Cha pelle was eminent as a manufacturing city, especially of cloth and needles, as early as the 12th century; and its prosperity in this respect still continues. Its woolen cloths are highly esteemed on the continent of Europe and are also exported to America, China, etc. All trading countries, including the United States, have consulates in the city. It is estimated that over 30 per cent of the inhabitants are em ployed in the manufactures of the city. Al though Aix-la-Chapelle is an extensive seat of manufactures and has considerable commercial relations, it derives its celebrity chiefly from its historical associations, and a considerable por tion of its importance and prosperity from the influx of visitors to its baths. There are in all eight mineral springs here, six of them warm. The most famous is the Imperial Spring or Kaiserguelle, which has a temperature of 143° F., and the vapor of which, when confined, deposits sulphur. For the accommodation of strangers there are a number of bathing-houses. The rooms for bathing are excellently fitted up, with baths from 4 to 5 feet deep, built in mas sive stone and in the old Roman style. About a half mile north of the city is the Louisberg or Lousberg, rising nearly 300 feet higher than the city. It is a favorite summer evening resort of the citizens.