Benois, Aleksander |
| PAINTER, HISTORIAN (FRANCE) |
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BORN 21 Apr 1870, St. Petersburg - DIED 9 Feb 1960, Paris BIRTH NAME Benois, Aleksander Nikolayevich GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière des Batignolles, 8 rue Saint-Just (division 25, Central Path, ligne 5, no. 8) |
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Alexandre Benois came from a Russian family of French origin. His mother was a granddaughter of the compser Catterino Cavos. His father Nicolas Benois was an architect. He studied law in Saint Petersburg and greaduated in 1894. In 1897 he painted a series of watercolours that he named "Last Walks of Louis XIV" and they attracted the attention of Serge de Diaghilev and Léon Bakst who became his friends. From 1897 he stayed in Brittany several times. In 1901 he became the stage director of the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg. In 1903 his illustrations for Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman" were published and they were highly acclaimed. He collaborated with Diaghilev and he created staged sets for Chopin's "Les Sylphides" (1908) and Stravinsky's "Petrochka" (1911). From 1918 to 1926 he directed the gallery of the Great Masters at the Hermitage Museum. In 1926 he settled in Paris and where he workd for the Comédie-Française and the Opéra. He also executed project for La Scala in Milan and Covent Garden in London. In 1928 he created the stage set for Ravel's "Bolero". His last holiday in Brittany took place in 1939 and on that occasion he brought back several watercolours. In 1955 his memoirs were published. He died in 1960 in Paris. The painter Zinaïda Serebriakova was his niece and his daughter Léla Clément-Benois was a painter as well. Family • Daughter: Clément-Benois, Léla Related persons • was a friend of Bakst, Léon • was a friend of Diaghilev, Sergei • cooperated with Diaghilev, Sergei |
| Images | |
 The grave of Aleksandre Benois and Léla Clément-Benois at the Cimetière des Batignolles, Paris. Picture by Androom (02 Nov 2017) |
 The grave of Aleksandre Benois and Léla Clément-Benois at the Cimetière des Batignolles, Paris. Picture by Androom (02 Nov 2017) |
Sources • Alexandre Benois — Wikipédia |
