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(3) Benois, Alexandre [Benua, Aleksandr (Nikolayevich)]
(b St Petersburg, 3 May 1870; d Paris, 9 Feb 1960). Painter, graphic artist, stage designer and writer, son of (1) Nikolay Benois. He was educated in St Petersburg, attending the May Gymnasium (1885–90) and the Faculty of Law at the university (1890–94). Although he attended the Academy of Arts for four months (1887–8) and classes at various studios in France, including that of Whistler in 1896, Alexandre Benois regarded himself as a self-taught artist. Brought up in the milieu of an artistic and influential family, he organized art circles at both the gymnasium and the university. A man of great knowledge and sophisticated taste, he stimulated everyone who worked with him and played a crucial role in Russian culture during the first quarter of the 20th century. It was he, for instance, who involved Serge Diaghilev in ballet and helped with his early artistic projects. He started his professional career as curator (1895–9) of Princess Maria Tenisheva’s collection of modern paintings, and he became a founder and leading member of the group WORLD OF ART (Mir Iskusstva; 1898) and of the exhibition society that succeeded it (1910). He also became artistic director of both the BALLETS RUSSES (1909–11) and the Moscow Art Theatre (Mkhat; c. 1909–14).
Part of the Benois family
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