From Mleta to Gudauri

A caravan of travelers and carts threads its way along a narrow mountain road in the Caucasus, hugging the edge of a steep drop. Ivan Aivazovsky painted this scene in 1868, showing a real stretch of the Georgian Military Road between Mleta and Gudauri. The tiny figures seem almost lost against the enormous cliffs rising around them, while a snow-capped peak catches the light far off in the distance. Fog drifts up from the valley below, blurring the edges of the world and lending the whole view a soft, hushed quality.

Most people know Aivazovsky for his stormy seas and glowing waves, since he built his reputation as one of Russia's finest painters of the ocean. This painting shows him trying something different, trading water for stone and open sky. His feel for light carries over all the same. Cool blue shadows fill the gorge while warm brown tones warm up the winding road, and a few birds wheeling through the air remind us just how big and empty this landscape really is. Sometimes an artist tied to a single subject surprises you by finding something worth painting far from home.