If you stop a person on the street in Russia and ask them which marine painter they know, I'm sure 97% of them would name Ivan Aivazovsky. If you then ask them to name his most well-known painting, 95% would likely name "The Ninth Wave." This painting was created in 1850 in a very short period of time—just 11 days. It had huge success and was purchased by Tsar Nicholas I himself