Ivan Aivazovsky. Parade of the Black Sea Fleet in 1849. no date

Parade of the Black Sea Fleet in 1849 (Ivan Aivazovsky, no date)

Hmm… could this painting have the date of… 1849? I wouldn’t bet against it!

This is the perfect painting to hang in your son’s room. It would give him the proper inspiration, I would say. Now, for your daughter’s room, I suggest Boris Olshansky’s Bereginya (it is posted here, search for “Bereginya”, and you’ll find it). Tsar Nikolai Pavlovich is seen reviewing his line-of-battleships in this scene taken from the end of the Age of Sail. In a few short years, steam-driven ironclads would replace all these beautiful sailing ships. Drat… they are more “romantic” in appearance, are they not?

Oh dear, she’s being anti-PC and Neanderthal again! Yep… I plead GUILTY. I vote for good-sense and respect for the practical wisdom of our forebears… they DID know a thing or two.