Alexander Benois: brief biography and creativity. Aesthetic views of the "World of Art"

On May 3 (April 21, O.S.), 1870, Alexander Nikolaevich Benois was born - Russian artist, art historian, art critic, museum activist, founder and chief ideologist of the World of Art association.

If M.V. Lomonosov has the glory of the first Russian scientist-encyclopedist, then A.N. Benoit can confidently be called the first Russian “encyclopedist” of art. Painter and graphic artist, illustrator and book designer, master of theatrical scenery, director, author of ballet librettos, A.N. Benois was at the same time an outstanding historian of Russian and Western European art, a theorist and keen publicist, an insightful critic, a major museum figure, and an incomparable connoisseur of theater, music and choreography. All his biographers and contemporaries call Benoit’s main character trait his all-consuming love of art. The versatility of Alexander Nikolaevich’s knowledge and activities served only as an expression of this love. Both in science and in artistic criticism, in every movement of his thought, Benoit always remained an artist. Contemporaries saw in him the living embodiment of the spirit of artistry.

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois was the ninth (and last) child in the family of academician of architecture Nikolai Leontievich Benois and musician Kamilla Albertovna (née Kavos). Alexander's maternal ancestors were Italians; his father's family moved to Russia after the revolutionary upheavals in France. For a number of generations, art was a hereditary profession in his family. Benoit's maternal great-grandfather K. A. Kavos was a composer and conductor, his grandfather was an architect who built a lot in St. Petersburg and Moscow; the artist's father was also a major architect, his elder brother was famous as a watercolor painter. The consciousness of young Benoit developed in an atmosphere of impressions of art and artistic interests.

Subsequently, recalling his childhood, the artist especially persistently emphasized two “spiritual currents,” two categories of experiences that influenced the formation of his views and, in a certain sense, determined the direction of all his future activities.

The first and most powerful of them is related to theatrical impressions. From his earliest years and throughout his life, Benoit experienced a feeling that can hardly be called anything other than the cult of the theater. Since childhood, Benoit associated the concept of “artistry” with the concept of “theatricality.” His favorite toys were miniature scenery, paper figurines of actors, which made up entire sets, with the help of which the boy could independently stage puppet shows. Alexandra’s grandmother brought real Italian puppets from Venice, depicting the heroes of the commedia dell’arte: Columbine, Harlequin, Pierrot... It was in the art of theater that the already adult A. Benois saw the only opportunity to create a creative synthesis of painting, architecture, music, plastic arts and poetry, to realize that organic fusion arts, which seemed to him the highest goal of artistic culture.

The second category of adolescent experiences, which left an indelible mark on Benoit’s aesthetic views, arose from impressions of country residences and St. Petersburg suburbs - Pavlovsk, the ancient dacha of Kushelev-Bezborodko on the right bank of the Neva, as well as Peterhof and its numerous monuments of art. “It was from these... Peterhof impressions that my entire subsequent cult of Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, and Versailles probably originated,” the artist later recalled. The origins of that bold revaluation of the art of the 18th century, which is one of the greatest merits of the World of Art, go back to the early impressions and experiences of Alexandre Benois.

It should be noted that the artistic tastes and views of the young Benoit were formed in opposition to his family, which adhered to conservative “academic” views. Alexander’s decision to become an artist matured very early. He began drawing in a private kindergarten, and in 1885-1890, while studying at the private gymnasium of K.I. May, Alexander met and became friends with people who, as they grew older, formed the backbone of the World of Art society: K. Somov, V. Nouvel, D. Filosofov (cousin of S.P. Diaghilev), L. Bakst. They organized a circle of art lovers.

In 1887, while still a high school student, Benois began attending classes at the Academy of Arts, which brought him nothing but disappointment. He chose to receive a legal education at St. Petersburg University (1890-1894), and undergo professional artistic training independently, according to his own program. His older brother Albert, who successfully painted in watercolors, became his teacher.

Daily hard work, constant training in drawing from life, the exercise of imagination in working on compositions, combined with an in-depth study of art history, gave the artist confident skill, not inferior to the skill of his peers who studied at the Academy. With the same persistence, Benois prepared for the work of an art historian, studying the Hermitage, studying specialized literature, traveling to historical cities and museums in Germany, Italy and France.

Independent studies in painting (mainly watercolors) were not in vain, and in 1893 Benois first appeared as a landscape painter at the exhibition of the Russian Society of Watercolor Painters.

A year later, he made his debut as an art critic, publishing an essay on Russian art in German in Muter’s book “The History of Painting in the 19th Century,” published in Munich. Russian translations of Benoit's essay were published the same year in the magazines "Artist" and "Russian Art Archive". They immediately started talking about him as a talented art critic who upended established ideas about the development of Russian art.

Having immediately declared himself as a practitioner and theoretician of art at the same time, Benoit maintained this duality in subsequent years. His talent and energy were enough for everything.

In 1895-99, Alexander Benois was the custodian of the collection of modern European and Russian paintings and graphics of Princess M. K. Tenisheva. In 1896 he organized a small Russian department for the Secession Exhibition in Munich; in the same year he made his first trip to Paris, painted views of Versailles, laying the foundation for his series on Versailles themes, so beloved by him throughout his life.

The series of watercolors “The Last Walks of Louis XIV” (1897-98, Russian Museum and other collections), created based on impressions from trips to France, was his first serious work in painting, in which he showed himself to be an original artist. This series for a long time established his fame as the “singer of Versailles and Louis.”

The circle of friends and like-minded people of Alexander Benois formed, as already mentioned, back in his gymnasium and university years. At the end of the 1890s, the circle of young like-minded people transformed into the World of Art society and the editorial office of the magazine of the same name. It was in the “World of Art” that world-famous artists Leon Bakst, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Evgeny Lanceray, Igor Grabar began their varied activities. N. Roerich, M. Nesterov, K. Serov, M. Vrubel, M. Korovin, B. Kustodiev and other masters of Russian art of the early 20th century were closely associated with them.

Motivating the emergence of the “World of Art,” Benois wrote:

The history of the “World of Art” began with an exhibition of Russian and Finnish artists organized by Sergei Diaghilev in January 1898 at the Baron Stieglitz School in St. Petersburg. S.P. Diaghilev studied with Benois at the Faculty of Law, and later recalled:

The Russian-Finnish exhibition was a great success. The works of a number of strong representatives of the new movement in Russia were exhibited here for the first time. The exposition of the exhibition became the prototype for future exhibitions of the World of Art magazine; it was here that their structure and composition of participants were outlined.

At the end of 1898, a group of like-minded artists of Benois created the magazine “World of Art”, which became the herald of neo-romanticism. In the future, annual exhibitions of the association are held.

The World of Art program envisaged the invasion of its figures into all areas of culture, including not only fine arts, theater, book design, but also the creation of household items - furniture, applied art, interior design projects. In this regard, the Miriskus students undoubtedly focused on creating a great artistic style, which is confirmed by their participation, led by Alexander Benois, in working on sketches for the painting of the largest public building of that time - the Kazan Station. The work of the artists of the World of Art was marked by intimacy, refined aestheticism and a penchant for graphics. However, intimacy and the desire for “art for art’s sake” are inherent in almost all artistic and literary communities of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The slogan “art to the masses” had not yet been proclaimed, and future proletarian poets and artists were still busy with other things...

Alexander Benois, having become the ideologist and theoretician of the World of Art association, actively participated in its artistic life, as well as in the publication of the World of Art magazine, which took on the role of the basis and ideological mouthpiece of this association. Benoit often appeared in print and published his “Artistic Letters” (1908-16) every week in the newspaper Rech. He worked even more fruitfully as an art historian: he published the book “Russian Painting in the 19th Century” in two editions (1901, 1902), significantly revising his early essay for it. Since 1910, he began publishing serial publications “The Russian School of Painting” and “The History of Painting of All Times and Peoples” (the publication was interrupted only with the beginning of the revolution in 1917). In those same years, the illustrated magazine “Art Treasures of Russia” was published under the editorship of Benoit. In 1911 he created the wonderful “Guide to the Hermitage Art Gallery”.

Benoit began his creative activity as a landscape painter and throughout his life he painted landscapes, mainly watercolors. They make up almost half of his legacy. Benoit's very turn to landscape was dictated by his interest in history. Two topics invariably attracted his attention: “Petersburg in the 18th - early 19th centuries.” and "France of Louis XIV".

Later, in memoirs written in old age, Benoit admitted:

(A. Benois. The Life of an Artist, vol. I.)

His first independent works (1892-1895) are a series of images of Pavlovsk, Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, corners of old Petersburg, as well as cities in Germany and Switzerland, their ancient quarters and architectural monuments. Later, as a mature master, Benois painted a series of landscapes of Versailles, to which he returned many times (1896, 1897, 1898, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1914), Peterhof (1900), Oranienbaum (1901), Pavlovsk (1902), Rome ( 1903), Venice (1912). All these series are dominated by images of historical locations, palace parks and works of art. The artist was interested in nature mainly in its connection with history. Only later, among the works of 1911-1916, purely landscape watercolor cycles began to appear, depicting the nature of Italy, Switzerland and Crimea.

A significant part of the listed series consists of works from life. For the most part, these are conscientious and accurate sketches, not brilliant in technique and not always possessing great artistic expressiveness. But for Benoit, full-scale studies were only the initial stage of creativity. The material gleaned from direct observations was subsequently subjected to radical processing. The artist rearranged the composition, changed the proportions, enhanced the decorative sound of color, turning the real landscape into a kind of theatrical scenery with scenes, a backdrop and a stage area on which the action could, and sometimes did, take place.

The main features of Benoit's Versailles watercolors come from examples of architectural and landscape engravings: their clear, almost drawing layout, clear spatiality, the predominance of simple, always balanced horizontals and verticals, the grandeur and coldish severity of compositional rhythms, and finally, the emphasized opposition of the grandiose statues and sculptural groups of Versailles - small, almost staffed figures of the king and courtiers, acting out simple genre and historical scenes. In Benoit's watercolors there is no dramatic plot, no active action and no psychological characteristics of the characters. The artist is not interested in people, but only in the atmosphere of antiquity and the spirit of theatrical court etiquette.

Following the first Versailles series, Benois created three series of landscapes and interiors depicting the domestic “Versailles” - Peterhof, Oranienbaum and Pavlovsk.

In these series there are no historical-genre scenes, no images of people, and therefore there is no shade of lyrical irony that marks “The Last Walks of Louis XIV.” All three new series are written as a result of careful historical and artistic research, inspired by a passionate poetic passion. Depicting the palaces and parks of the suburban royal residences, Benois pathetically glorifies the beauty and grandeur of Russian art of the 18th century. Benoit’s compositions often retain the features of a theatrical “backstage” structure, although historical characters do not perform on stage. The “hero” of the artist’s new works is the art of the past itself: not people, but magnificent architectural and park ensembles, sometimes striking with their grandeur, sometimes enchanting with their intimate grace and poetic charm.

At the beginning of 1905, Benoit and his family left for France again. Being, in his own words, organically alien to politics, the artist hoped that with the formation of the State Duma all the “ugliness” in Russia would end. He did not at all share the revolutionary sentiments of his comrades in the “World of Art” - E. Lanseray, D. Filosofov and his friends - Merezhkovsky and Gippius. The artist himself admitted that it was difficult to call him a patriot. He always tried to escape the terrible changes in his homeland by leaving the country or completely immersing himself in creativity.

In France, in 1905-1906, the famous second “Versailles” series of Benois was created. It is much more extensive than “The Last Walks of Louis XIV” and more varied in content and technique. It includes sketches from life painted in the park of Versailles, retrospective historical and genre paintings, original “fantasies” on architectural and landscape themes, images of court theatrical performances at Versailles. The series includes works in oil paints, tempera, gouache and watercolors, drawings in sanguine and sepia.

However, these works can only be conditionally called a “series”. They are connected to each other not by the development of the plot or even by the commonality of the creative tasks posed in them, but only by some unity of mood that arose at that time when Benoit, in his words, was “intoxicated with Versailles” and “completely moved into the past,” striving forget about the tragic Russian reality of 1905.

The same series includes works that are among Benoit’s most successful works, deservedly enjoying wide fame: “Parade under Paul I” (1907, State Russian Museum; p. 401), “The Entrance of Empress Catherine II in the Tsarskoe Selo Palace” (1909 , State Art Gallery of Armenia, Yerevan), “Petersburg Street under Peter I” (1910, private collection in Moscow) and “Peter I on a walk in the Summer Garden” (1910, State Russian Museum). In these works one can notice some change in the very principle of the artist’s historical thinking. Finally, the center of his interests is not monuments of ancient art, not things and costumes, but people. Multi-figure historical and everyday scenes written by Benoit recreate the appearance of a past life, seen as if through the eyes of a contemporary.

Benois devoted a lot of mental strength and time to work in easel painting and graphics, but by the very nature of his talent and the type of creative thinking, he was not an easel painter, much less a master of a painting that could embody all aspects of his plan in a single, as it were synthesizing image. Benoit thought and approached his themes precisely as an illustrator or as a theater artist and director, consistently revealing in a cycle of sketches and compositions various aspects of the image he had conceived, creating a series of successive architectural and landscape settings and carefully designed mise-en-scenes. It is not without reason that his best creations belong to the art of books and theater painting.

Throughout Benoit's life, the theater was his strongest passion; He loved nothing so passionately and knew nothing so deeply. Having shown himself in many genres - in literature, painting, art history, criticism, directing - Alexandre Benois is remembered, first of all, as a theater artist and theorist of theatrical and decorative art.

Benoit inherited a genuine cult of theater from his mother, and his childhood dream was to become a theater artist. A true child of St. Petersburg in the 1870s and 80s, Benois was deeply captivated by the then passion for drama, opera and ballet, and even before his trip to Germany in 1890 he saw The Sleeping Beauty, The Queen of Spades and many other performances. Benois made his debut as a theater artist in 1900, designing A. S. Taneev’s one-act opera “Cupid’s Revenge” at the Hermitage Theater in St. Petersburg.

In 1901, Prince S. M. Volkonsky, director of the Imperial Theatres, succumbing to the persuasion of S. P. Diaghilev, decided to prepare a special production under his direction of Delibes’ one-act ballet “Sylvia”. Benois was invited as the main artist and worked on the play together with K.A. Korovin, L.S. Bakst, E.E. Lansere and V. A. Serov, however, due to Diaghilev’s quarrel with Volkonsky, the ballet was never staged.

Benoit's real debut as a theater artist took place in 1902, when he was commissioned to design the production of R. Wagner's opera "Twilight of the Gods" on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. Following this, he completed sketches of the scenery for N. V. Tcherepnin’s ballet “Armida’s Pavilion” (1903). The artist himself composed the libretto and, together with choreographer M. Fokin, participated in the production of this performance.

Benoit's success in the Armida Pavilion only confirmed his artistic calling. He was immediately involved in many theater projects. In 1907 A.N. Benois played an important role in the founding of the Ancient Theater in St. Petersburg (for which he created the curtain), and the following year one of his sets was used in the Paris production of Boris Godunov.

The passion for ballet turned out to be so strong that on Benoit’s initiative and with his direct participation, a private ballet troupe was organized, which began triumphant performances in Paris in 1909 - “Russian Seasons”. They are usually associated only with the name of S.P. Diaghilev, forgetting that it was A.N. Benoit held the post of artistic director in the troupe. It was his production of “Armide’s Pavilion” that marked the beginning of the “Diaghilev seasons” in Paris in 1909. Benois's role in ballet productions, as well as in the design of performances, is much more significant than the role of his friend Diaghilev. Diaghilev, by and large, was only a talented administrator with good, in modern parlance, “administrative resources”: connections, acquaintances, access to government funding.

For the “Russian seasons” in Paris, Benois also designed the performances “Selfide” (1909), “Giselle” (1910), and “The Nightingale” (1914). One of the highest achievements of the theater artist Benois was the scenery for I. F. Stravinsky’s ballet “Petrushka” (1911). It should be noted that this famous ballet was created according to the idea of ​​​​Benois himself and according to the libretto written by him.

Soon the artist’s collaboration with the Moscow Art Theater began, where he successfully designed two performances based on the plays of J.-B. Moliere (1913). From 1913 to 1915 A.N. Benois actively participated in the management of the theater along with K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko.

In the last pre-revolutionary years (1911-1917), Benois, who was mainly busy working in the theater, continued to turn from time to time to easel painting and graphics. In 1912, a series of landscapes of Venice was created, in 1915 - a Crimean series. In 1914-1917, the artist worked on sketches of decorative panels for the Kazansky railway station in Moscow, which, however, were never realized.

Together with other masters of the World of Art, Benois was one of the most active figures in the artistic movement that revived the art of book graphics in Russia.

Almost each of the artists of the World of Art left their mark on the development of new book graphics and participated to one degree or another in the creation and development of a general creative system of illustration and book design; but, of course, not everyone had an equal share of participation. Somov was the initiator and founder of new artistic principles of decorative book decoration, but he did not have the talent of an illustrator.

Like Somov, Benois performed a number of purely design, decorative drawings for the magazines “World of Art” (1901, 1902, 1903), “Art Treasures of Russia” (1902) and “Golden Fleece” (1906). But his main area of ​​activity in graphics, from the early period to the last pre-revolutionary years, was illustration.

Benoit’s early works for the book include an illustration for “The Queen of Spades” (1898), published in the three-volume collected works of Pushkin (1899), illustrated by many Russian artists, including the masters of the “World of Art”. This first experience was followed by four watercolors - illustrations for “The Golden Pot” by E. T. A. Hoffmann (1899), which remained unpublished, and two page illustrations for P. I. Kutepov’s book “Tsarist and Imperial Hunting in Rus'” (1902) , created in collaboration with E. E. Lanceray. Already in these early works, the specific features of Benoit’s illustrative talent clearly appear: the power of his imagination, plot ingenuity, the ability to convey the spirit and style of the depicted era. But the illustrations are still of an “easel” nature: these are historical compositions embedded in the book, not organically merging with it.

A more mature phase in the development of Benoit’s book graphics is reflected in his “ABC in Pictures” (1904) - the first book in which the artist acted as the sole author, creator of the concept, illustrator and designer. For the first time here he had to solve issues of artistic design of a book. Each of the drawings for “The ABC” is a detailed narrative scene, imbued with gentle humor, sometimes genre, more often fairy-tale or theatrical, always inexhaustibly inventive in plot motives. The story of the children’s book “The World of Art” begins with “The ABC” by A. Benois.

Gradually, book graphics in the hands of Benoit become not so much a decorative art, but a narrative one. Purely design tasks, which so occupied Somov, Dobuzhinsky and the young Lanceray, play a clearly secondary role in Benoit’s work. His compositions are always spatial precisely because they are, first of all, narrative.

The main place among Benoit's graphic works is occupied by illustrations to the works of A.S. Pushkin. The artist worked on them throughout his life. As already mentioned, he began with drawings for “The Queen of Spades” (1898) and then returned to illustrating this story twice (in 1905 and 1910). Benoit also completed two series of illustrations for The Captain's Daughter and for a number of years prepared his main work - drawings for The Bronze Horseman.

In pre-revolutionary times, Benoit's book works had little success with publishers. The drawings for The Captain's Daughter (1904) remained unpublished. The first version of the illustrations for “The Bronze Horseman” (1903) was not published as a separate book, but only in the magazine “World of Art” (1904), in violation of the design layout planned by the artist. Only the second version (1910) of illustrations for “The Queen of Spades” was properly published.

The best of the artist’s book works is undoubtedly his masterpiece - drawings for Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman”. The cycle of the first version consists of 32 drawings in ink and watercolor, imitating color wood engraving. The publication of the illustrations in the World of Art was immediately greeted by the artistic community as a major event in Russian graphics. I. Grabar noted in Benoit’s illustrations a subtle understanding of Pushkin and his era and at the same time a heightened sense of modernity, and L. Bakst called the cycle of illustrations for “The Bronze Horseman” “a real pearl in Russian art.”

All of Benoit’s illustrations for The Bronze Horseman were published in their entirety only in the 1920s.

Benoit's activity as an art critic and art historian is inextricably linked with everything that Benoit did in painting, easel and book graphics, and in the theater. Benoit's critical essays and historical and artistic studies represent a commentary on the ideological and creative quest and everyday practical work of the artist. His literary works undoubtedly have independent significance, characterizing a complex, large and fruitful stage in the development of Russian criticism and the science of art.

Together with Grabar, Benoit led a movement that updated the method, techniques and themes of Russian art history at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. One of the most important missions of this movement, which arose in line with the “World of Art,” was a systematic revision of all material, critical assessments and main problems in the history of Russian painting, architecture, plastic arts and decorative arts of the 18th and 19th centuries. The point was to shed new light on the processes of development of Russian artistic culture over the last two centuries, using materials that were not only previously unstudied, but also almost untouched.

It is difficult to overestimate the scale of this work, which could only be collective. Almost all the figures from the World of Art took part in it. Artists and critics, following the example of Benoit, became historians, collectors, discoverers and interpreters of forgotten or incomprehensible artistic values. The significance of such “discoveries” as Russian portrait painting of the 18th century and the architecture of old St. Petersburg was already mentioned above. There have been many similar discoveries by World of Art students in a wide variety of spheres of artistic culture. Benoit was the initiator and inspirer of this work. The most difficult and responsible part of it fell to his share - the analysis and generalization of the history of Russian painting of the 18th-19th centuries.

In 1901-1902, “The History of Painting in the 19th Century” was published in two parts. Russian painting”, attached as the fourth volume to the translation of the famous work of R. Muter. The title of Benoit's book does not quite correspond to its content: the presentation covers not only the 19th century, but the entire history of new Russian painting, from the era of Peter the Great to the first exhibitions of the World of Art.

In Russian scientific literature, issues of art history have never been presented with such completeness and systematicity, with such insight of analysis and at the same time with such emphasized and even programmatic subjectivity. Benoit's book is a serious and original study, striking in the abundance and diversity of the material involved, the deep thoughtfulness and penetrating subtlety of individual characteristics, but... At the same time, the book is a sharp journalistic treatise, polemically directed against academicism and Wandering. In his book, Benoit gave a devastating description of the work of Bryullov and Bruni, spoke with disdain about Aivazovsky and Vereshchagin, and showed unfair intolerance towards many of the Itinerants. At the same time, he often exaggerated the importance of the work of his closest associates and friends.

These features of the book are associated with the group tactics of the “World of Art” and with the personal, subjective predilections of the author. Representing a tribute to the times, they should not play a decisive role in assessing Benoit’s work. A much more noticeable shortcoming of the book is the instability and vagueness of the general historical concept underlying the study. It is precisely historicism that is lacking. Art is interpreted by Benoit as a completely autonomous sphere, independent of social reality and barely connected with other cultural phenomena. Thus, the topic of research becomes not the process of historical development of national painting with its hidden patterns that must be discovered, but only the history of the artists who took part in this process.

But if the history of Russian painting as a whole contains serious shortcomings, then its individual pages, in which the author was not constrained by the biases of personal taste or the tactical considerations of the group, are among the most striking phenomena of Russian art history of the early 20th century. To this day, the chapters on portrait painters of the 18th century, on Kiprensky, Venetsianov, Sylvester, Shchedrin and landscape painters of the 1810-1830s, on Alexander Ivanov, Surikov, Vrubel and Serov, retain their scientific significance.

Simultaneously with these major works, Benois published in the magazine “World of Art” (1899-1904) and the monthly collection “Artistic Treasures of Russia” (1901-1903), and later in the magazine “Old Years” (1907-1913) and some other publications articles and notes on certain issues in the history of Russian and Western European art. The most significant articles concern the architecture of old St. Petersburg and its suburbs. In 1910, Benoit’s extensive study “Tsarskoye Selo during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna” was published - a thoroughly documented work dedicated to the history of everyday life and artistic life in Russia in the first half of the 18th century.

The earliest of Benoit’s art-critical series, “Conversations of an Artist,” published in the magazine “World of Art” for 1899, characterizes the first steps of Benoit as a critic. It contains mainly reviews of Parisian art exhibitions and notes on some minor French painters like Forin and Latouche, who at that time still seemed more significant to the critic than the Impressionists and Cezanne.

The second series of his articles, published in the Moscow Weekly for 1907-1908 under the heading “An Artist’s Diary,” is devoted primarily to issues of theater and music.

The heyday of Benoit’s artistic and critical activity falls during the period of the creation of the third series of his articles - under the general title “Artistic Letters”, which were published weekly in the newspaper Rech from November 1908 to 1917. This series includes about 250 articles, unusually diverse in content and, in general, reflecting the artistic life of those years with great completeness. Not a single significant event in art remained without a response from Benoit. He wrote about modern painting, sculpture and graphics, about architecture, theater, about artistic antiquities, folk art, about new books and exhibitions, about creative groups and about individual masters, analyzing and evaluating every major phenomenon of art with passionate interest. According to Benoit, only freedom and inspiration create and determine the value of a work of art. But the critic emphasizes that the freedom of art is not limitless, and inspiration should not escape the control of consciousness. There is no place for arbitrariness in art, and the most important quality of an artist is a sense of professional responsibility.

In Russian historiography, there is an opinion that “Alexander Benois, like Blok, Bely and Bryusov, supported the October Revolution and, with his usual zeal, worked as a curator of works of fine art in his native St. Petersburg.” It would be more accurate to say that A.N. Benoit goes all out had tried work with usual diligence, despite the catastrophic changes that have occurred in the country. But politics itself constantly interfered with the life of a person who had neither definite political convictions nor the desire to stand in open opposition to any government.

During the years of the revolution and the Civil War, A.N. Benois remained in Petrograd. The Bolsheviks, having barely seized power, declared “war on palaces,” and the guardian of Russian art actively took up the problems of reorganizing palace complexes, as well as preserving these monuments of Russian culture from vandalism and looting. Judging by Benoit's diaries for the period 1917-1920, the reality of the first post-revolutionary years seriously frightened the artist, but he refused to emigrate and did not leave his homeland at such a decisive hour. However, hunger, cold, an abundance of garbage, war cripples and “intelligent” beggars on the streets of Petrograd did not fit into Benoit’s ideas about life in general, and about the life of his family in particular. The Benoit family managed to survive during these years only thanks to American ARA rations (aid to the affected countries in the First World War). From 1917 to 1926, Benois was in charge of the Hermitage Picture Gallery, i.e. was a government employee to whom these rations were given as wages.

In 1921, two brothers A.N. were arrested. Benoit - Leonty and Mikhail. And he himself lived with a constant fear of being arrested.

“Sleepless night due to incessant listening,- he wrote in his diary on August 7, 1921 - Akitsa(wife of A.N. Benois - E.Sh.) does not allow closing the window for the flow of fresh air, and therefore you can still hear the clicking of the latch of the gate in the gate, how they walk around the yard, and it all seems that the Arkharovites will appear: here they are heading to our floor ... "

Over time, fear became something commonplace and turned into a feeling of incessant vague anxiety. “Now I feel more tired, broken and dejected than in all these years. It’s like there’s something hanging over my head,”- wrote A.N. Benoit already in April 1923. He called such emotions “the feeling of the OGPU,” as well as “a common disease in Russia.” The fear of speaking openly on issues of art and culture that were close to him, fearing that the people with whom you were talking would turn out to be provocateurs, constantly haunted Alexandre Benois. And he, having been an uncompromising critic before the revolution, not afraid to speak out on any artistic issues, was now forced to choose his words even in conversations with good friends.

The only consolation in the often unbearable reality for Alexander Benois during these years was the Hermitage. With extraordinary diligence, he put together new exhibitions and searched from expropriated collections for masterpieces worthy of the Hermitage. But even here in front of A.N. Benoit faces constant obstacles of a completely different kind: starting with the fact that electricity in the Hermitage is turned off for non-payment and ending with difficulties in hanging paintings, as well as constant threats of sales of Hermitage valuables from the People's Commissariat for Education. A.N. Benois approached his work at the Hermitage with great responsibility, which he loved since childhood and dreamed of turning into a world-class museum. “It would be good if, thanks to me, the Winter Palace will be saved and turned into a monument-treasury of world significance,”- he sincerely hoped.

However, this task was largely hampered by the general crisis in the artistic life of Russia. “Unfortunately,” noted Alexander Benois, “... interest in art is declining, and in the very near future it, even now barely vegetating, will have absolutely nothing to do.” Art in Russia, according to A.N. Benoit, was simply strangled by “decrees, unions, the frivolity of Lunacharsky and the stupidity of other doctrinaires...”

But even with the Bolsheviks A.N. Benoit could have gotten along quite well (this is exactly what he had been trying to do since 1917) if they had given him the opportunity to calmly do what he loved. But everyday obstacles constantly stood in his way: he had to take care of the well-being of his family, and constantly circumvent the obstacles put in place by the government for artists (for example, the ban on painting on the streets of Petrograd). The most difficult thing for Alexandre Benoit was that he was invariably required to express his political position. For him, a man who had always proclaimed that he had no political convictions, this was intolerable. For some time he tried to live in the old way, carefully choosing his words in conversations with acquaintances, courageously enduring conversations about modern art with strangers, each of whom could turn out to be an informer or an agent of the Cheka-OGPU. However, in the USSR it was impossible to live outside of politics. Feeling this, A.N. Benoit began to think about emigration.

In the 1920s, Benois returned to his theatrical activities. He is working on the design of performances in the Petrograd theaters (formerly the Mariinsky and Alexandrinsky), trying to “fit in” with the new, revolutionary art, but Soviet propaganda is more likely to offend the artist’s feelings than to inspire him to creative achievements.

Remaining in Soviet Russia, Benois never severed his ties with Europe, in particular with the Parisian Grand Opera Theater, in whose productions he participated as a theater artist even in the pre-revolutionary years. Since 1923, Alexander Nikolaevich often travels on business trips to France, where he continues to work on the design of opera and ballet performances. The temptation to stay abroad was great, but the fear of being cut off from his native soil forever, finding himself a “refugee” without specific occupations, stopped the artist for several years. In addition, Alexander Nikolaevich’s wife, Anna Karlovna Kind, a faithful companion throughout his life, categorically opposed emigration, considering it inappropriate to leave his native nest in old age.

It is possible that A.N. Benoit, in order to be able to leave the country, bound himself to certain obligations with the INO OGPU. In his surviving diaries and correspondence for the years 1923-25, the fear of refugee and lack of demand in a foreign land is quickly replaced by the fear of looking like an agent of the Bolsheviks in the eyes of the emigrant public. Some records clearly show a reluctance to meet with their former acquaintances and compatriots. “Maybe those Russians won’t be there!”- A. Benoit wrote in his diary before his next trip abroad. However, there are no direct indications of the artist’s collaboration with security officers in known documents, and this issue remains unclear.

Only by 1926 did Benoit finally make a forced choice between the difficulties of an emigrant existence and the increasingly frightening prospect of life in a Soviet country. He once again went to Paris to stage and design a performance at the Grand Opera, but from there he never returned to Russia. This decision was not easy for Benoit. In correspondence from 1926-27, the artist often notes that, as he manages to win back those positions in Europe that he lost during the years of the revolution, he is drawn back to his homeland: “And just imagine, now that I am becoming completely my own person here, I am beginning to be drawn home with unbearable force...”(from a letter to F.F. Notgaft, 1926)

But A.N. is sad. Benoit, like most emigrants, not just by his homeland, but by the way he knew it before. That is why the longing for Russia, reflected in the epistolary legacy of Alexander Benois from his foreign period, is combined with the understanding that returning there is impossible, just as it is impossible for a person to return to his long-gone childhood and youth.

However, in France, Alexander Nikolaevich successfully continued his activities as a theater artist: first at the Grand Opera in Paris, then in the 1930-1950s he collaborated with La Scala in Milan, where his son was in charge of the production department Nikolai. Working at the same professional level, Benois was no longer able to create anything fundamentally new and interesting, often contenting himself with varying the old (at least eight versions of the now legendary ballet “Petrushka” were performed).

The main work of the last years of his life was his memoirs, on the pages of which Benoit resurrects in detail and fascinatingly the years of his childhood and youth. In his memoirs “My Memories,” Benoit soulfully recreated the atmosphere of spiritual and creative quest of the “Silver Age” in Russia at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries.

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois died on February 9, 1960 in Paris, just a few months shy of his ninetieth birthday.

Throughout his long career as an artist, critic and art historian, Benoit remained faithful to a high understanding of aesthetic criteria in art, defended the intrinsic value of artistic creativity and visual culture, based on strong traditions. It is also important that all of Benoit’s multifaceted activities were, in fact, devoted to one goal: the glorification of Russian art. Throughout his long life, he did not take a single step away from her.

Compilation by Elena Shirokova based on materials:

A.N. Benoit and his addressees./Comp. I.I. Vydrin. – St. Petersburg: Garden of Arts, 2003.

“Undoubtedly, there is...a formal archivist inside of me.” From the diary of A.N. Benoit (1923) / Publ. I.I. Vydrina // Domestic archives, 2001. No. 5. – P.56-95.

Benois Alexander Nikolaevich is a painter, graphic artist, art critic, a prominent representative of the artistic association "World of Art", the author of numerous literary works highlighting the work of Russian and foreign masters, a brilliant decorator who worked in theaters in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and in many cities in Europe and America. His life was full of work and quests, mistakes and great creative successes. An unusually gifted artist, promoter of art, organizer of numerous exhibitions, museum worker, active figure in theater and cinema, A. N. Benois made a huge contribution to the history of Russian artistic culture of the 20th century.

He was born in St. Petersburg on May 3, 1870 in a family of multi-talented artists. The artist’s father, Nikolai Leontievich, is an academician of architecture. A. N. Benois spent his childhood and many years of life in St. Petersburg, in house No. 15 on Glinka Street, not far from the Kryukov Canal.

The situation in the house, the environment surrounding Alexander Nikolaevich, contributed to his artistic development. Since childhood, he fell in love with “old Petersburg”, the suburbs of the capital. His love for the stage arose early in him, and he retained it throughout his life. Alexander Benois was gifted with exceptional musicality and had a rare visual memory. The works he created in old age, “memory drawings,” indicate the amazing resilience and strength of his life perception.

Benoit began learning to draw in a private kindergarten and was completely absorbed in art all his life. At the gymnasium, where Alexander Benois studied from 1885 to 1890, he became friends with V. Nouvel, D. Filosofov and K. Somov. Subsequently, all of them, together with S.P. Diaghilev became the organizers of the group "World of Art" and the magazine of the same name, the main task of which was to promote foreign and especially Russian art. "The World of Art" revealed many forgotten or unnoticed names, drew attention to applied arts, architecture, folk crafts, and raised the importance of graphics, decoration and book illustration. A. Benois was the soul of “World of Art” and an indispensable participant in the magazine. He did not graduate from the Academy of Arts, believing that one can become an artist only by continuously working. His exceptional ability to work allowed him to fill an album with drawings in one day, work in the studio on a painting he had begun, visit theater workshops, delving into the details of set and costume sketches, directing, and even developing roles with actors. In addition, Benoit managed to prepare an article for a magazine or newspaper, write several letters, always interesting with thoughts about art and always informative,

He also had time for his family. Son Nikolai, daughters Elena and Anna, nephews and their little friends found in “Uncle Shura” a participant in curious undertakings, useful activities and never felt either irritation or fatigue of this busy but tireless man.

At the end of 1896, together with friends, Alexandre Benois first came to Paris and fell in love with this city; here he created the famous “Versailles series”, depicting the beauty of the parks and the walks of the “Sun King” (Louis XIV). Having an excellent understanding of the events of the past, Benoit was able to see through the eyes of a man of the 20th century. An example of this is the painting “Parade under Paul I”, which shows a subtle knowledge of history, costumes, architecture, life and at the same time a touch of humor, almost satire, is felt. “No matter what nonsense modern artistic writers spew about me, about my “aestheticism,” my sympathies attracted and now attract me to the simplest and truest images of reality,” said Benoit.

The artist knew how to appreciate the greatness of the art of the past. This played a particularly important role in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, when capitalist developments and ugly apartment buildings began to threaten the classic appearance of the city. Benoit was a consistent defender of the values ​​of antiquity.

In the works of A. N. Benois, graphic comments on works of literature attract special attention. The highest achievement of book graphics were illustrations for A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman”; The artist worked on them for more than twenty years. Unique in artistic merit, temperament and strength, only this work could give A. Benois the name of the greatest artist of the early 20th century.

A. Benois was also a famous theater figure. He began working with K. S. Stanislavsky, and after the Great October Revolution, together with A. M. Gorky, he participated in the organization of the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater, for which he created a number of brilliant performances. The design of "The Marriage of Figaro", staged in 1926, is Benoit's last work in Soviet Russia.

The artist's life ended in Paris. He worked a lot in Milan at the famous La Scala theater. But the memory of his homeland, where he participated in the implementation of the first measures of the Soviet government to organize museums, was a leading employee of the Hermitage and the Russian Museum, and took care of the protection of ancient monuments, has always been the most precious thing in his life for A. Benois.

Back in the 1910s, as one of the most active figures and organizers (together with S.P. Diaghilev) of the Russian ballet tours in Paris, A. Benois was most concerned that these performances would contribute to the world glory of Russian art. All his latest works are devoted to the continuation and variations of the “Russian series”, begun back in 1907–1910. He constantly returned to the images of Pushkin’s poetry that were dear to him: “On the shore of desert waves”, “Flood in St. Petersburg in 1824.” In the last years of his life, A. Benois again, but in painting, developed these subjects. Working for cinematography, A. Benois turned to the images of F. M. Dostoevsky, to Russian themes. In music, he passionately loved Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov. A. N. Benois died on February 9, 1960.

(1870-1960) Russian artist, critic, art historian

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois came from a family that made a significant contribution to the history of Russian culture. Maternal grandfather A. Kavos was an academician, the author of the Bolshoi Theater project. His father was a famous architect, in particular, one of the authors of the Hermitage reconstruction project. The elder brother was the rector of the Academy of Arts.

From early childhood, Alexander was interested in art. He studied at the private gymnasium of K. May, in his free time he copied drawings by old masters and studied painting techniques with his brother. The boy painted with watercolors no less willingly. His brother believed that he should have become a professional artist.

After graduating from high school, at the insistence of his father, Alexander entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. From that time on, his life was divided into two parts: at the university he studied law, and devoted all his free time to art.

During his university years, Alexander Benois became close to V. Nouvel, K. Somov, D. Filosofov. They formed a “Self-Education Circle”, on the basis of which the “World of Art” group was formed in the mid-nineties. Benoit becomes the soul of this association and its artistic director. Young enthusiasts publish their own magazine, come up with exhibition projects, Benois writes critical articles, analyzes the current artistic process.

During the summer holidays, he annually traveled to European countries, getting acquainted with collections of works of art and architectural attractions. From each trip he brought watercolor sketches.

Since 1891, the works of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois have been exhibited annually at art exhibitions. Fame came to him in 1893, when he published a chapter on the history of Russian art in the book “History of Painting” by the German researcher R. Meng. Later it will form the basis of his book “The History of Russian Painting.”

After graduating from university, Alexander Benois became the custodian of the collections of modern and Russian paintings, which were collected by Princess M. Tenisheva. With her money, he created one of the best collections in Russia, which later became part of the Russian Museum.

In 1896, Benois organized an exhibition of Russian painting in Germany. It began a wide acquaintance of the European audience with the work of contemporary Russian artists. Along with the exhibition, Alexander Benois travels to European cities and gives lectures. Then he visited Paris for the first time, from where he brought a series of watercolors and gouaches with views of Versailles, later published in the World of Art magazine.

Simultaneously with exhibition activities, Benois creates numerous scenery for the theater. The artist's debut took place in 1900 in the play "Cupid's Revenge", staged at the Hermitage Theater in St. Petersburg.

After the premiere, Alexander Benois was invited as an artist to the Mariinsky Theater, where he created sets for productions of world opera classics (operas by R. Wagner, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, P. Tchaikovsky).

Since 1909, Benois has worked as artistic director of the Russian ballet seasons, which were conducted in Paris by S. Diaghilev. He prepares scenery for performances, organizes art exhibitions, writes the libretto for I. Stravinsky’s ballet “Petrushka”.

Thanks to the help of wealthy patrons of the arts - Prince S. Shcherbatov and entrepreneur W. von Meck - Benois was able to implement an extensive program of publications under the general title “Artistic Treasures of Russia”. He began the systematic scientific publication of works of art stored in Russian museums. Each volume of the series was accompanied by a detailed commentary, which was of independent artistic value. In terms of the number of facts reported in it, even today it has almost no equal. But the independent position of Alexander Benois and the rigidity of his judgments led to the fact that after three years the publication of books ceased.

Working on catalogs of museum collections allowed Benoit to organize several art exhibitions. The most famous of them was the exhibition of Russian portraiture, created together with Sergei Diaghilev. Benois first presented the history of the realistic portrait of Russia from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century. When Russian estates were destroyed in the fire of revolutions and wars, the catalog compiled by Alexander Nikolaevich Benois became an indispensable reference for restorers and art historians.

After the outbreak of the First World War, the active publishing activity of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois began to decline: issues of “Artistic Treasures of Russia” stopped being published, then the magazine “World of Art” closed.

In 1917, Benois worked as head of the Hermitage art gallery. Thanks to his titanic efforts, many outstanding works of art were preserved. In addition, he was able to convince the Bolshevik government to create a public museum in the Hermitage.

But soon the activities of Alexander Benois began to meet resistance from the authorities, and he was removed from the leadership of the Hermitage. For some time he worked on the board of the People's Commissariat for Education under the leadership of Anatoly Lunacharsky, and collaborated with the publishing house "World Literature".

But in 1926, after the authorities confiscated his collection of paintings, Benois left Russia. Formally, he went to Paris at the invitation of the management of the Grand Opera Theater. But in fact, he was leaving his homeland forever.

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois settled in Paris and became the leading set designer of the French opera. At the same time, he continues to collaborate with Diaghilev’s troupe, for which he designs performances in various European cities.

Alexander Benois combines theatrical activities with organizing art exhibitions. At the end of the twenties, he carried out a unique program of traveling exhibitions held in cities in Europe and the USA.

It was these exhibitions that opened Russian art as an aesthetic phenomenon to Western Europe. Benoit's work was highly praised. He becomes a Knight of the French Legion of Honor and the Order of the Crown of Italy. In parallel, Alexandre Benois continues to study painting and book illustration.

In 1930, he moved to Italy and began working as the chief artist of the La Scala theater. At that time, the production department of the theater was headed by Benois’s son, Nikolai.

During World War II, the artist returns to Paris. Since most theaters are ceasing production activities, he is engaged in illustrating works of Russian classics, releasing several albums of watercolors with views of St. Petersburg and its suburbs.

Since 1939, Alexander Nikolaevich Benois began working on a book of memoirs. Personal memories soon develop into a vast panorama of the history of artistic life in Russia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.

After the war, he resumed work in the theater, continued to design performances at La Scala, traveled to the USA with a troupe organized by entrepreneur S. Hurok, and designed performances in theaters in Buenos Aires and in Covent Garden (London).

Benoit spent the last years of his life in Italy; his personal exhibitions were held almost every year in museums in Rome and Milan.

In 1958, the first part of his memoirs in five books was published. However, the onset of illness prevented him from completing his fundamental work.

The family life of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois was happy. In 1893, he married the daughter of a German businessman A. Kind, and three children were born in the marriage. His only son, Nikolai Benois, became a famous decorative artist.

- (1870 1960), artist, art historian and art critic. Son of N. L. Benois, brother of A. N. Benois. One of the organizers and ideological leaders of the World of Art association, creator of the magazine of the same name. In painting, graphics, theatrical works... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Son of Prof. architecture Nikolai Leontyevich B., b. in 1870 After completing a course at the Faculty of Law in St. Petersburg. University devoted himself entirely to art. He lived in Paris for a long time, from where he made artistic trips to Brittany, Normandy,... ... Large biographical encyclopedia

Benois, Alexander Nikolaevich- Alexander Nikolaevich Benois. BENOIS Alexander Nikolaevich (1870 1960), Russian artist, art historian and art critic. Since 1926 in France. Ideologist of the World of Art. In painting, graphics, theatrical works (Versailles series, 1905... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

- (1870 1960), Russian artist, art historian, art critic. Son of N. L. Benois. I studied on my own. In 1896-98 and 1905-1907 he worked in France. One of the organizers and ideological leader of the association and the magazine World of Art.... ... Art encyclopedia

Benois Alexander Nikolaevich- (18701960), painter and graphic artist, art historian, art critic. Son of N. L. Benois, brother of L. N. Benois. Born in St. Petersburg. He studied at the Faculty of Law of the University (189094), studied painting and drawing independently under... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"

- (1870 1960) Russian artist, art historian and art critic. Son of N. L. Benois. Ideologist of the World of Art. In painting, graphics, theatrical works (Versailles series; illustrations for the Bronze Horseman by A. S. Pushkin, 1903 22) subtly ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Russian artist, art historian, art critic. Son of the architect N. L. Benois. He studied art on his own. Lived in St. Petersburg. In 1896-98 and 1905-07 he worked in France. One of… … Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (1870 1960), painter and graphic artist, art historian, art critic. Son of N. L. Benois, brother of L. N. Benois. Born in St. Petersburg. He studied at the Faculty of Law of the University (1890 94), studied painting and drawing independently under... ... St. Petersburg (encyclopedia)

See the article by Benoit (L.N., A.N.) ... Biographical Dictionary

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Books

• History of painting of all times and peoples. In 4 volumes, Benois Alexander Nikolaevich. The personality of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois is striking in its scale. For the first time in the history of Russian aesthetic thought, he substantiated the national identity and international connections of the Russian...
• Diary 1918-1924, Benois Alexander Nikolaevich. The diaries of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (1870 - 1960), covering the years 1918-1924, have never been published before. Famous and fashionable painter, authoritative critic and art historian, respected...

History of graphics

Benois Alexander Nikolaevich (1870-1960)

A. V. Benois was born into the family of a famous architect and grew up in an atmosphere of reverence for art, but did not receive an art education. 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 the development of 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.

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), significantly revising his early essay for it; 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 of 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.

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. These same themes dominated his book and theater works, to which he, like most “World of Art” artists, paid no less, if not more, attention than easel creativity. 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” ", to three versions of which he devoted almost twenty years of work (1903-22).

One of his highest achievements was the scenery for I. F. Stravinsky’s ballet “Petrushka” (1911); this ballet was created according to the idea of ​​Bonou himself;) and according to the libretto written by him. Soon after, the artist’s collaboration with the Moscow Art Theater began, 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.

In 1926, Benoit, having made a forced choice between the difficulties of an emigrant existence and the increasingly frightening prospect of life in a Soviet country, left for France. There he worked mainly in theaters: first at the Grand Opera in Paris, and after World War II at La Scala in Milan. He worked at the same professional level, but was no longer able to create anything fundamentally new and interesting, often content with varying the old (at least eight versions of the now legendary ballet “Petrushka” were performed). The main work of his last years (since 1934) was his memoirs, on the pages of which he recalled in detail and fascinatingly the years of his childhood and youth.

A.Benoit. "ABC in pictures"

Facsimile reproduction of the 1904 edition.
One of the famous books for children is “The ABC in Pictures” by the Russian artist, art historian Alexander Nikolaevich Benois. Benoit's exquisite graphics are still an unsurpassed example of book illustration. Each page of the ABC is an amazing, bewitching fairy-tale world.

Books about Alexander Benois, art history and literary works by A. Benois: