Alexander Benois: brief biography and creativity. Russian modern

And indeed, it is not easy to determine who this brilliant man was: the range of interests of Alexandre Benois is very wide. He is also an artist who works easel painting, graphic artist and decorator.

Childhood
Alexander Nikolaevich Benois was born on May 3, 1870 in St. Petersburg - a city for which he had a “tender and deep feeling” throughout his life. And to the cult hometown its surroundings were also included - Oranienbaum, Pavlovsk and most importantly - Peterhof. Later in his memoirs, Benoit will write: “My romance of life began in Peterhof” - for the first time he came to this “fairy-tale place” when he was not even a month old, and it was there that he first began to “become aware” of his surroundings.
A very special atmosphere reigned in the house where little Shura grew up. Since childhood, Benoit was surrounded by talented, extraordinary people. His father Nikolai Leontyevich and brother Leonty were “brilliant masters of architecture,” both graduated from the Academy of Arts with a gold medal, which, according to Benois himself, was “a rare case in the life of the Academy.” Both were "virtuosos of drawing and brushwork." They populated their drawings with hundreds of human figures, and they could be admired like paintings.
Father Benoit participated in the construction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow and the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. His most ambitious project is considered to be the court stables in Peterhof. Brother Leonty later took the position of rector of the Academy of Arts. Another brother, Albert, painted wonderful watercolors that sold like hot cakes in the 1880s and 1890s. Even the imperial couple attended exhibitions of his paintings, he was made chairman of the Watercolor Society, and at the Academy he was given the opportunity to teach a watercolor class.
Benoit began drawing almost from the cradle. Family legend preserved
that, having received a pencil in his hands at the age of eighteen months, the future artist grabbed it with his fingers exactly as was considered correct. Parents, brothers and sisters admired everything that their little Shura did, and always praised him. In the end, at the age of five, Benoit tried to make a copy of the Bolsen Mass and felt shame and even a kind of resentment towards Raphael for not being able to do it.
In addition to Raphael - in front of copies of huge canvases in the Academy hall the boy was literally numb - little Benoit had two more serious hobbies: his father’s travel albums, in which landscapes alternated with sketches of dashing military men, sailors, gondoliers, monks of various orders, and, without doubts - theater. As for the first, looking at “daddy's albums” was a great holiday for both the boy and the father. Nikolai Leontievich accompanied each page with comments, and his son knew his stories in every detail. As for the second, then, according to Benois himself, it was “passion for the theater” that played perhaps the most important role in his further development.
Education
In 1877, Camilla Albertovna, Benoit’s mother, seriously thought about her son’s education. But it must be said that by the age of seven, this family pet still could not read or write. Later, Benoit recalled the attempts of his loved ones to teach him the alphabet: about “folding cubes” with pictures and letters. He put pictures together eagerly, but the letters only irritated him, and the boy could not understand why M and A, placed side by side, formed the syllable “MA.”
Finally the boy was sent to kindergarten. As in any exemplary school, there, in addition to other subjects, they also taught drawing, taught by the Itinerant artist Lemokh.
However, as Benoit himself recalls, he did not gain any benefit from these lessons. Already as a teenager, Benoit met Lemokh more than once in the house of his brother Albert and even received former teacher flattering reviews addressed to you. “You should seriously take up drawing, you have noticeable talent,” Lemokh said.
Of all educational institutions which Benois visited, it is worth noting the private gymnasium of K. I. May (1885-1890s), where he met the people who later formed the backbone of the “World of Art”. If we talk about artistic vocational training, then Benoit did not receive a so-called academic education. In 1887, while still a seventh-grader at the high school, he attended evening classes at the Academy of Arts for four months. Disillusioned with teaching methods - teaching seems institutional and boring to him - Benoit begins to paint on his own. He takes watercolor lessons from his older brother Albert, studies literature on art history, and later copies paintings by old Dutchmen in the Hermitage. After graduating from high school, Benoit entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. In the 1890s he began to paint.

Oranienbaum

The painting “Oranienbaum” became one of the first works of the “Russian series” - everything here breathes calmness and simplicity, but at the same time the canvas attracts the eye.
For the first time, Benoit's works were presented to the public in 1893 at the exhibition of the Russian Society of Watercolor Painters, the chairman of which was his older brother Albert.
In 1890, Benoit's parents, wanting to reward their son for successfully completing high school, gave him the opportunity to travel around Europe.
From his travels, Benoit brought back more than a hundred photographs of paintings acquired in Berlin, Nuremberg, and Heidelberg museums. He pasted his treasures into large-format albums, and subsequently Somov, Nouvel and Bakst, Lanceray, Filosofov and Diaghilev studied from these photographs.
After graduating from university in 1894, Benoit
park" - then leave the hands of the collector and for a long time are kept in private collections.

Versailles series

Inspired by a trip to France, Benoit created a series of watercolors in 1896-1898: “At the Pool of Ceres”, “Versailles”, “The King Walks in Any Weather”, “Masquerade under Louis XIV” and others.
makes several more trips abroad. He travels again in Germany and also visits Italy and France. In 1895-1896, the artist’s paintings regularly appeared at exhibitions of the Watercolor Society.
M. Tretyakov acquires three paintings for his gallery: “Vegetable Garden”, “Cemetery” and “Castle”. However, Benoit's best works are paintings from the cycle “Walks of King Louis XIV at Versailles”, “Walk in the Garden of Versailles”.
From autumn 1905 to spring 1906 Benoit lived in Versailles and could observe the park in any weather and in different time days. This period includes full-scale oil studies - small cardboards or tablets on which Benoit painted this or that corner of the park. Made on the basis of sketches from life in watercolor and gouache, this painting by Benoit is stylistically fundamentally different from the fantasies of the early Versailles cycle. Their colors are richer, landscape motifs are more varied, compositions are bolder.
"Versailles. Greenhouse"
Paintings from the “Versailles series” were exhibited in Paris at the famous exhibition of Russian art, as well as in St. Petersburg and Moscow at exhibitions of the Union of Russian Artists. Critical reviews were not flattering; in particular, they noted the overuse of French Rococo motifs, the lack of novelty of themes and polemical sharpness.

Love for St. Petersburg
The artist turns to the image of his beloved city throughout most of his life. creative path. In the early 1900s, Benoit created a series of watercolor paintings dedicated to the suburbs of the capital, as well as old St. Petersburg. These sketches were made for the Community of St. Eugenia of the Red Cross and published as postcards. Benoit himself was a member of the community's editorial commission and advocated that postcards, in addition to charitable purposes, serve cultural and educational purposes.
Contemporaries called community postcards art encyclopedia era. Since 1907, postcards have been issued in quantities of up to 10 thousand copies, and the most successful ones have gone through several reprints.
Benoit returned to the image of St. Petersburg again in the second half of the 1900s. And again the artist paints pictures of historical themes close to his heart, including “Parade under Paul I”, “Peter I on a walk in Summer Garden" and others.

The composition is a kind of historical dramatization, conveying a direct feeling of a bygone era. Like a performance in a puppet theater, the action unfolds - a march of soldiers in Prussian-style uniforms in front of St. Michael's Castle and Constable Square. The appearance of the emperor echoes the figure bronze horseman, which is visible against the background of the wall of the unfinished castle.
And the background of their creation is as follows. In the early 1900s, Russian book publisher Joseph Nikolaevich Knebel came up with an idea to publish the brochures “Pictures of Russian History” as a school textbook. Knebel relies on high printing quality of reproductions
(by the way, their size practically corresponded to the originals) and attracts the best to work contemporary artists, including Benoit.

Benoit will turn more than once in his work to the image of St. Petersburg and its suburbs. We also see him in the painting “Peter on a Walk in the Summer Garden,” where Peter, surrounded by his retinue, walks through this wonderful corner of the city he built. St. Petersburg streets and houses will appear in illustrations to the works of A. Pushkin, and “St. Petersburg Versailles” will appear on canvases painted during the emigration period, including “Peterhof. Main fountain" and "Peterhof. The lower fountain at the cascade."

On this canvas, the artist masterfully depicted the grandeur of the Peterhof fountains and the beauty of the park sculptures. The streams of water gushing in different directions are mesmerizing and the wonderful summer day is captivating - everything around seems to be penetrated by the rays of the invisible sun.

The artist painted his landscape from this point, correctly defining its composition and focusing on the image of the Lower Park in inextricable connection with the bay, which is perceived as a continuation of the entire ensemble.
“Peterhof is a Russian Versailles”, “Peter wanted to arrange a semblance of Versailles” - these phrases were constantly heard at that time.
HARLEQUIN

One cannot ignore another character to whom Benoit repeatedly turns in the 1900s. This is Harlequin.
I would like to note that commedia dell'arte masks - typical images works of art beginning of the twentieth century. If speak about
Benoit, then between 1901 and 1906 he created several paintings with similar characters. In the paintings, a performance is played out in front of the viewer: the main masks are frozen on the stage in plastic poses, and secondary characters peek out from behind the scenes.
Perhaps the appeal to masks is not only a tribute to the times, since the performances with the participation of Harlequin, which Benois had a chance to see in the mid-1870s, can be considered one of his most vivid childhood impressions.

BENOIT IN THE THEATER
In the first decade of the twentieth century, Benoit managed to make his childhood dream come true: he became a theater artist. However, he himself jokingly attributes the beginning of his theatrical activities by 1878.

Returning to the 1900s, it is worth noting that the artist’s first work in the theatrical field was a sketch for A. S. Taneyev’s opera “Cupid’s Revenge.” Although the truly first opera for the production of which Benois created scenery sketches, his true theatrical debut, should be considered Wagner’s “Twilight of the Gods.” Its premiere, which took place in 1903 on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, received a standing ovation from the audience.
Benois's first ballet is considered to be Armida's Pavilion, although several years earlier he had worked on scenery sketches for one-act ballet Delibes' Sylvia, which was never staged. And here it is worth returning to another childhood hobby of the artist - his balletomania.
According to Benoit, it all started with improvisations by his brother Albert. As soon as the twelve-year-old boy heard the cheerful and sonorous chords coming from Albert’s room, he was unable to resist their call.
BALLETOMANIA AND DIAGILEV'S SEASONS

Fair". Set design for I. Stravinsky's ballet “Petrushka”. 1911
Paper, watercolor, gouache. 83.4×60 cm. Museum of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater, Moscow

The artist suggests writing music for the ballet to his niece’s husband N. Cherepnin, a student of Rimsky-Korsakov. Also in 1903, the score for the three-act ballet was completed, and soon the Armida Pavilion was offered to the Mariinsky Theater. However, its production never took place. In 1906, the novice choreographer M. Fokine heard a suite from the ballet and at the beginning of 1907, based on it, he staged a one-act educational performance called “The Living Tapestry,” in which Nijinsky plays the role of the slave Armida. Benoit is invited to a ballet rehearsal, and he is literally stunned by the spectacle.
Soon it was decided to stage “Armida’s Pavilion” on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, but in a new version - one act with three scenes - and with Anna Pavlova in leading role. The premiere, held on November 25, 1907, is a huge success, and the ballet soloists, including Pavlova and Nijinsky, as well as Benois and Tcherepnin, are called to the stage for an encore.
Benois not only writes the libretto, but also creates sketches of the scenery and costumes for the production of The Armida Pavilion. The artist and choreographer never tire of admiring each other.
We can say that the history of Diaghilev’s “Russian Ballet Seasons” begins with the Armida Pavilion.
After the triumphant success of M. Mussorgsky's opera "Boris Godunov", shown in Paris in 1908, Benois invited Diaghilev to include in next season and ballet performances. The premiere of The Armida Pavilion, which took place on May 19, 1909 at the Chatelet Theater, was a stunning success. The Parisians were amazed both by the luxury of the costumes and decorations, and by the art of the dancers. Thus, in the capital's newspapers on May 20, Vaslav Nijinsky was called a “floating angel” and “god of dance.”
Subsequently, for the Russian Seasons, Benois designed the ballets La Sylphide, Giselle, Petrushka, and The Nightingale. From 1913 until his emigration, the artist worked in various theaters, including the Moscow Art Theater (he designed two performances based on Moliere’s plays), in Academic Theater opera and ballet (“ Queen of Spades"P.I. Tchaikovsky). After emigrating to France, the artist collaborated with European theaters, including the Grand Opera, Covent Garden, and La Scala.
"Fair" and "Arap's Room".
Sketches of the scenery for Igor Stravinsky's opera "Petrushka"
Sketches of the scenery for Igor Stravinsky's ballet "Petrushka" are considered one of highest achievements Benois as a theater artist. They feel close expressive means popular prints and folk toys. In addition to the scenery, the artist creates sketches of costumes for the ballet - while carefully studying historical material - and also takes part in writing the libretto.
BOOK GRAPHICS

Sketch of an illustration for “The Bronze Horseman” by A. S. Pushkin. 1916 Paper, ink, brush, whitewash, charcoal.
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

An important place in the work of Benoit, as well as other masters of the World of Art, is occupied by book graphics. His debut in the field of books is an illustration for “The Queen of Spades”, prepared for a three-volume anniversary edition A. Pushkin. It was followed by illustrations for “The Golden Pot” by E. T. A. Hoffmann, “The ABC in Pictures”.
I must say that Pushkin theme is dominant in Benoit’s work as a book graphic artist. The artist has been turning to Pushkin’s works for more than 20 years. In 1904, and then in 1919, Benoit completed drawings for The Captain's Daughter. In 1905 and 1911, the artist’s attention was again focused on the “Queen of Spades”. But of course, the most significant of Pushkin’s works for Benoit is “The Bronze Horseman”.
The artist completed several cycles of illustrations for Pushkin’s poem. In 1899-1904, Benoit created the first cycle, consisting of 32 drawings (including headpieces and endings). In 1905, while in Versailles, he re-drew six illustrations and completed the frontispiece. In 1916, he began work on the third cycle, essentially reworking the drawings of 1905, leaving only the frontispiece intact. In 1921-1922 he created a number of illustrations that complemented the 1916 cycle.
It should be noted that from the drawings made in ink, prints were made in the printing house, which Benoit painted with watercolors. Then the prints were again sent to the printing house, and cliches were made from them for color printing.
The illustrations of the first cycle were published by Sergei Diaghilev in the 1904 issue of World of Art, although they were originally intended for the Society of Lovers of Fine Editions. The second cycle was never printed in its entirety; individual illustrations were featured in various publications in 1909 and 1912. Illustrations last cycle, included in the 1923 edition of The Bronze Horseman, became classics of book graphics.
in the German Settlement" Mons, the daughter of a German winemaker. The painter created his work based on descriptions found in the archives of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. It is known for certain that the famous courtesan was very disliked in Moscow, considering her the reason for the exile of Queen Evdokia and Peter’s quarrel with Tsarevich Alexei, who was subsequently executed. Based on the name of the German settlement (Kukuyu), she received the odious nickname - the Kukui Queen.
EMIGRATION
The post-revolutionary years were a difficult period for Benoit. Hunger, cold, devastation - all this does not correspond to his ideas about life. After the arrest of his older brothers Leonty and Mikhail in 1921, fear settled firmly in the artist’s soul. At night, Benoit cannot sleep, he constantly listens to the creaking of the latch on the gate, to the sound of footsteps in the yard, and it seems to him that the Arkharovites are about to appear: now they are heading to the floor. The only outlet at this time was work at the Hermitage - in 1918, Benois was elected head of the Art Gallery.
In the early 1920s, he repeatedly thought about emigration. Finally, in 1926, the choice was made, and Benoit, having gone on a business trip from the Hermitage to Paris, never returned to Russia.

Marquise's bath. 1906 Paper on cardboard, gouache. 51 x 47 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Self-portrait. 1896 (paper, ink, pen)

Benois Alexander Nikolaevich

Marquise's bath. 1906

Carnival on Fontanka.

Italian comedy. “Love Note”. 1907.

Summer Garden under Peter the Great. 1902

Pavilion. 1906

Oranienbaum. Japanese hall 1901

Rey embankment in Basel in the rain. 1902

Masquerade under Louis 14. 1898

Parade under Paul I. 1907

Wedding walk. 1906

Paris. Carrousel. 1927

Peterhof. Flower beds under the Grand Palace. 1918

Peterhof. Lower fountain at the Cascade. 1942

Peterhof. Main fountain. 1942

Peterhof. Big cascade. 1901-17

Biography of Alexander Benois.

Benois Alexander Nikolaevich(1870-1960) graphic artist, painter, theater artist, publisher, writer, one of the authors modern image books. Representative of Russian Art Nouveau.

A. N. Benois was born into the family of a famous architect and grew up in an atmosphere of reverence for art, however art education not received. He studied at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University (1890-94), but at the same time independently studied the history of art and was engaged in drawing and painting (mainly watercolors). He did this so thoroughly that he was able to write a chapter on Russian art for the third volume of “The History of Painting in the 19th Century” by R. Muter, published in 1894.

They immediately started talking about him as a talented art critic who upended established ideas about development Russian art. In 1897, based on impressions from trips to France, he created his first serious work - a series of watercolors "The Last Walks of Louis XIV", showing himself in it to be an original artist.

Repeated trips to Italy and France and copying artistic treasures there, studying the works of Saint-Simon, Western literature of the 17th-19th centuries, interest in ancient engravings were the foundation of his artistic education. In 1893, Benoit acted as a landscape painter, creating watercolors of the environs of St. Petersburg. In 1897-1898 he painted a series of watercolors and gouache landscape paintings Versailles parks, recreating in them the spirit and atmosphere of antiquity.

Towards the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Benoit again returned to the landscapes of Peterhof, Oranienbaum, and Pavlovsk. It glorifies the beauty and grandeur of 18th century architecture. The artist is interested in nature mainly in its connection with history. Possessing a pedagogical gift and erudition, he late XIX V. organized the World of Art association, becoming its theoretician and inspirer. He worked a lot in book graphics. He often appeared in print and published his “Artistic Letters” (1908-16) every week in the newspaper “Rech”.

He worked no less fruitfully as an art historian: he published the widely known book “Russian Painting in the 19th Century” in two editions (1901, 1902), having significantly revised his early sketch; began publishing serial publications "Russian School of Painting" and "History of Painting of All Times and Peoples" (1910-17; publication was interrupted with the beginning of the revolution) and the magazine " Artistic treasures Russia"; created the wonderful "Guide to the Hermitage Art Gallery" (1911).

After the revolution of 1917, Benoit took an active part in the work of various organizations, mainly related to the protection of monuments of art and antiquities, and from 1918 he also took up museum work - he became the head of the Hermitage Picture Gallery. He developed and successfully implemented a completely new plan for the general exhibition of the museum, which contributed to the most expressive demonstration of each work.

At the beginning of the 20th century. Benois illustrates the works of Pushkin A.S. Acts as a critic and art historian. In the 1910s, people became the center of the artist’s interests. Such is his painting “Peter I on a walk in the Summer Garden”, where the appearance of past life, seen through the eyes of a contemporary.

History decisively predominated in the work of Benoit the artist. Two topics invariably attracted his attention: “Petersburg XVIII - early XIX century." and "France of Louis XIV". He addressed them primarily in his historical compositions - in two " Versailles series"(1897, 1905-06), widely famous paintings“Parade under Paul I” (1907), “Catherine II’s entrance in the Tsarskoye Selo Palace” (1907), etc., reproducing a long-gone life with deep knowledge and a subtle sense of style. His numerous natural landscapes, which he usually executed either in St. Petersburg and its suburbs, or in Versailles (Benoit regularly traveled to France and lived there for a long time), were essentially devoted to the same themes. The artist entered the history of Russian book graphics with his book “The ABC in the Paintings of Alexandre Benois” (1905) and illustrations for “The Queen of Spades” by A. S. Pushkin, executed in two versions (1899, 1910), as well as wonderful illustrations for “The Bronze Horseman” ", three versions of which he devoted almost twenty years of work (1903-22).

During these same years, he took part in the design of the “Russian Seasons”, organized by S.P. Diaghilev. in Paris, which included in their program not only opera and ballet performances, but also symphony concerts.

Benois designed R. Wagner's opera "Twilight of the Gods" on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater and then performed scenery sketches for N. N. Tcherepnin's ballet "Armida's Pavilion" (1903), the libretto of which he composed himself. The passion for ballet turned out to be so strong that, on Benois’ initiative and with his direct participation, a private ballet troupe, which began triumphant performances in Paris in 1909 - “Russian Seasons”. Benois, who took over the post of artistic director in the troupe, performed the designs for several performances.

One of his highest achievements was the scenery for I. F. Stravinsky's ballet "Petrushka" (1911). Soon Benois began collaborating with the Moscow Art Theater, where he successfully designed two performances based on the plays of J.-B. Moliere (1913) and for some time even participated in the management of the theater along with K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

From 1926 he lived in Paris, where he died. The artist's main works: "The King's Walk" (1906), "Fantasy on the Versailles Theme" (1906), "Italian Comedy" (1906), illustrations for the Bronze Horseman by A.S. Pushkin. (1903) and others

(to see the description of the book, click on the picture)

Working on a painting in the studio, creating sketches theatrical costumes and decorations, preparing for the publication of another article about art... This was an ordinary day for Alexandre Benois, an artist, critic, art critic and theater figure.

From the Benois dynasty

Alexander Benois was born in St. Petersburg in the family of architect Nikolai Benois and his wife Camilla. Among Alexander Benois's relatives were Albert Kavos, the creator of the Mariinsky Theater project, actor Peter Ustinov, and artist Zinaida Serebryakova. Almost half of the representatives of the Silver Age culture were in one way or another connected with the Benois family.

In his memoirs, the artist emphasized that his artistic and aesthetic views formed two categories of experiences. The first and most powerful is the theater. Alexandre Benois forever linked the concept of “artistry” with the concept of “theatricality”. It is on the stage, in his opinion, that it is possible to achieve the highest goal of art - the synthesis of arts. The second category of experiences is the impressions of getting to know the St. Petersburg royal residences and suburbs.

“From these various Peterhof impressions... probably my entire subsequent cult of Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, and Versailles originated.”

Alexander Benois

“Cover the subject as widely as possible and study as deeply as possible”

Alexander Benois studied at the private Karl May gymnasium in St. Petersburg. Here he became close to Sergei Diaghilev and other participants in the future World of Art. For some time he attended evening classes at the Academy of Arts. His brother Albert taught him basic painting skills.

Alexander Benois believed that only through self-education can one achieve perfection in one's profession. Throughout his life he studied art, became a brilliant art critic. Among his works is a chapter on Russian artists for the German collection “History paintings of the 19th century century", "History of painting of all times and peoples", one of the best guides to the Hermitage and much more.

“Towards the simplest and truest images of reality”

“In me, “passeism” began to manifest itself as something completely natural back in early childhood. ... Much in the past seems to me to be well and long ago familiar, perhaps even more familiar than the present.<...>My attitude towards the past is more tender, more loving than towards the present.”

Alexander Benois

Benoit especially often painted Tsarist Petersburg and its palace and park ensembles, scenes from the lives of historical characters, landscapes of France and the parks of Versailles.

Benois wrote “The ABC in Pictures” and created illustrations for “The Bronze Horseman” and “The Queen of Spades” by Alexander Pushkin, which went down in the history of book graphics.

Theater occupies a special place in his work. Benoit created scenery for productions and developed costume designs. He helped design several performances for the Russian seasons in Paris.

Alexander Benois at the Gorky Commission

Alexandre Benois fought to preserve cultural heritage. Right after October revolution he worked closely with Maxim Gorky in the Commission for the Protection of Monuments of Art. The artist was one of the first to visit Winter Palace after its assault and described it in his memoirs.

Benois helped restore the activities of the Russian Museum and compile new exhibition art of the 18th–20th centuries. Later artist became manager art gallery V State Hermitage, at the same time carried out research work.

He also worked to preserve architectural monuments Petersburg and its suburbs, and he covered the results of his work in a series of articles.

“This is the people’s property, this is our property, and we need to do everything in our power so that the people realize this and so that they take possession of what rightfully belongs to them. The very idea of ​​the nationality of all art, of everything in which people from the people invested their ideals of beauty, this idea should now come to light and come to life with special force.”

Alexander Benois

Aesthetic views of the "World of Art"

The World of Art circle (like its magazine) became, in Benoit’s words, “a practical necessity.” There was a crisis in the society of the Itinerants, and the artists needed a new vector of movement. The magazine introduced the audience to Western classics and modernism, Russian painting and architecture.

IN different times The association included Valentin Serov, Isaac Levitan, Mikhail Nesterov, Mikhail Vrubel, Lev Bakst, Konstantin Somov and, of course, Sergei Diaghilev. Ilya Repin also shared the views of the Miriskuniks.

“We were guided not so much by considerations of an “ideological” order, but by considerations of practical necessity. A whole number of young artists had nowhere to go.”

Alexander Benois

"World of Art" announced beauty main goal creativity. The subjectivity of this goal gave artists complete freedom - both in choosing a topic and in choosing artistic means.

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois. Portrait by Leon Bakst

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois is a major art critic, painter, publisher and author of magnificent illustrations, writer and theater artist, one of the founders of Russian Art Nouveau.

Biography of the artist Alexandre Benois

The artist Alexander Nikolaevich Benois was born in 1870, in St. Petersburg, in the family of the famous architect Nikolai Leontievich Benois. In the family of the future artist, art was simply revered, but the parents insisted that their son enter St. Petersburg University and become a lawyer.

While studying at the university, Alexander Nikolaevich independently studied the history of art, took up drawing, mastered watercolor painting. History is silent about what kind of lawyer Benoit was. In 1894 (the year Alexander graduated from university), the third volume of “The History of Painting in the 19th Century” by R. Muter was published. This volume includes a chapter on Russian art, authored by Alexandre Benois.

And they immediately started talking about Alexander Nikolaevich as a most talented art critic who simply overturned established ideas about the development of Russian art.

In 1897, after trips to France, Alexandre Benois presented to the public the first series of his watercolors under common theme"The Last Walks of Louis XIV." The public was completely delighted, and critics started talking about the emergence of a new, talented, original artist.

In 1893, Benoit wrote a series watercolor landscapes outskirts of St. Petersburg. It must be said that his landscapes are more a tribute to history than to nature. The artist is more fascinated by historical figures, architecture, and costume. And nature serves only as a magnificent decoration for the events depicted by the painter.

From 1897 to 1898 Benoit wrote a series watercolor paintings about the parks of Versailles. And again, critics speak not about the splendor of nature, but about the clearly recreated spirit of bygone times, the atmosphere of a beautiful, magnificent past.

Next big topic in the artist’s work Peterhof, Oranienbaum and Pavlovskoye become. And again the grandeur of architecture, fountains, parks and history.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Alexander Benois created the “World of Art” association, in which he became the main theorist and inspirer, wrote a lot, appeared in print and became the author of the weekly “Art Letters” in the newspaper “Rech”.

Benoit does not forget about the history of art - in 1901 and 1902 he was widely born famous book"Russian painting in the 19th century." The publisher Benoit begins publishing the series “Russian School of Painting” and “History of Painting of All Times and Peoples.” The production of these series ceased, for obvious reasons, in 1917.

There was also the magazine “Artistic Treasures of Russia” and the magnificent “Guide to the Hermitage Art Gallery”. And all this was done with the most active and direct participation (and under the leadership) of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois.

And there was also a hobby book graphics and creation of illustrations for a number of works by A.S. Pushkin. And the works of the magnificent theatrical artist Benoit. He created sketches of costumes and scenery for theater performances, ballets and operas. I will not bore you with a list of everything that has been done in this field - only other artists theatrical creativity would be more than enough for a lifetime. What is it worth to participate in the management of the Moscow Art Theater together with K.S. Stanislavsky and V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko!

The revolution of 1917 with an iron hand crossed out a huge number of projects and undertakings of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois, and he began working in a variety of organizations that tried to preserve monuments of antiquity and art.

Since 1918, Benoit was in charge of the Hermitage art gallery and developed a new plan for the general exhibition of the museum, which was noticed and noted by the art lovers still remaining in Russia.

Since 1926, the artist has lived and worked in Paris. He practically doesn’t paint anymore – he’s simply consumed by longing for his homeland. Sketches of costumes and scenery for Diaghilev’s theater, participation in the creation of theatrical productions...

And memoirs. Just the most valuable memories and thoughts about people, events, art.

The artist died in February 1960. Buried in Paris.

The famous Russian artist Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (1870-1960) was born in famous family, where besides him there were eight more children. Mother Camilla Albertovna Benois (Kavos) was a musician by training. Father is a famous architect.

Alexander Benois, biography (brief): childhood and youth

The future artist spent his childhood in St. Petersburg. There he entered the private Karl May gymnasium, from which 25 representatives of the Benois family graduated at different times. After completing his classical education, Alexander continued his studies at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University and at the same time attended classes at the Academy of Arts. Besides, in student years young Benoit proved himself as a writer and art critic, adding to Mutter’s book “History European art» chapter about Russian art. Between 1896 and 1898, Alexandre Benois lived and worked in France. It was there that he wrote the Versailles Series.

"World of Art"

In 1898, together with Alexandre Benois, he organized the World of Art association, which published a publication of the same name. It included such famous artists, like Lanceray, Diaghilev and Bakst. Members of the association organized exhibitions in which Roerich, Vrubel, Serov, Bilibin, Vasnetsov, Korovin and Dobuzhinsky took part. However, not all famous artists reacted favorably to the World of Art. In particular, Repin did not really like this company, and called Benoit himself a dropout, a bibliographer and curator of the Hermitage, although he took part in exhibitions.

"Russian Seasons"

In 1905, Alexandre Benois left for France. There, also on his initiative, the ballet troupe “Russian Seasons” was formed, headed by Diaghilev. Benoit appeared to her artistic director and in 1911 he created the world-famous sets for the opera Petrushka by Stravinsky. Moreover, few people know that the artist not only designed the performance, but also helped write the libretto for the opera.

Return to Russia

In 1910, the artist published “Guide to the Hermitage”. This publication became the pinnacle of his work as an art critic. A few years later, Alexander Benois used his own money to buy a plot of land in the Crimea, in the city of Sudak, on which he built a dacha, where he rested and worked. Paintings and sketches made there are kept in many museums in Russia. IN Soviet period, after his departure to France, when it became clear that Benoit would not return, the archive stored in the artist’s Crimean house was transferred to the Russian Museum, and personal belongings and furniture were sold at auction.

After the Revolution, on the recommendation of Gorky, Alexander Benois, whose photo is presented below, worked on the committee for the protection of cultural monuments, headed the Hermitage and designed performances in many theaters: the Mariinsky, Alexandrinsky and the Bolshoi Drama Theater.

However, what was happening in the country greatly upset the artist. From the report of A.V. Lunacharsky dated 03/09/1921, in response to secret request No. 2244, it followed that at the beginning of the revolution he supported the changes, but was subsequently upset by life’s hardships and expressed dissatisfaction with the communists who controlled the museum’s work. Further, the People's Commissar wrote that Benoit is not a friend of the new government, but as director of the Hermitage he provides enormous services to the country and art. Lunacharsky's resume sounded like this: according to professional qualities the artist is valuable and must be protected.

Departure

An ambiguous attitude towards the new government predetermined later life and the work of Benoit. “The Marriage of Figaro” is the last performance at the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater, staged by the artist before leaving the country.

In 1926, on the recommendation of Lunacharsky, Alexander Benois, whose biography in last years full of tragic events, I went on a business trip to work at the Grand Opera in France. Sending him to Paris, the People's Commissar perfectly understood what was going on in his soul. Benoit was planning to return to Russia after work, but at the end of June 1927, Lunacharsky himself arrived in Paris. From the artist’s letter to F.F. Northau follows that it was the People's Commissar who persuaded him not to return to his homeland. In a friendly conversation, he spoke about the lack of funding and conditions for his work and advised him to wait in France until the situation changes.

So Benoit never returned to Russia.

last years of life

The biography of Alexander Benois continued to be written far from his homeland, but by this time most of his friends and like-minded people were in Paris. The artist continued to work, designed sets in many theaters, wrote books and paintings. Later they worked together with their son Nikolai and daughter Elena. Alexandre Benois died in Paris in 1960, just short of his 90th birthday. He left a huge number of works, publications and memoirs. Throughout his life, Alexander Benois, whose biography and work were inextricably linked with Russia, remained its ardent patriot and tried to make its culture popular throughout the world.

Personal life

Alexander Benois was married. The marriage produced children: daughter Elena and son Nikolai. Both are artists. N. Benoit went to France in 1924 by invitation. He then moved to Italy, where for many years (from 1937 to 1970) he was director of production at Milan's La Scala. He was involved in the design of productions, many of which he did with his father, and worked in many famous theaters world, for three seasons he designed productions in Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. Daughter Elena left Soviet Russia with his father to Paris in 1926. Was famous painter, and two of her paintings were acquired by the French government. Among her works is a portrait of B.F. Shalyapin and Z.E. Serebryakova.

In memory of the famous artist who made a great contribution to performing arts, an international ballet prize was established bearing his name. In Peterhof there is an exhibition dedicated to him personally.