Bidspirit auction | Benois A.N.

Benois A.N. - Costume design for a theatrical production.. Year:  1898. Technique:  Pencil on paper. Size:  29,9х23. Descripton:  Artist's inscriptions on the sheet. Benois Alexander Nikolaevich (1870, St. Petersburg - 1960, Paris). Russian artist, theater figure, historian and art critic; founder of the World of Art association. Son of the famous architect N.L. Benois. He studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1887). During frequent trips to France, he created a large melancholic and grotesque watercolor series, The Last Walks of Louis XIV (1897-1898), which established his fame as the “singer of Versailles.” Author of the History of Russian Painting in the 19th Century (1902), the Russian School of Painting (in 10 issues, 1904-1906) and the History of Painting of All Times and Peoples (in 4 volumes, 1912-1917; publication not completed). He founded and edited the magazine “Art Treasures of Russia” (1901-1903), actively collaborated in the magazines “Starye Gody”, “Moscow Weekly”, and the newspapers “Slovo” and “Rech”. In 1909-1911 was the artistic director of Russian Seasons. He collaborated with theaters around the world, including the Paris Opera (1927-1934) and Milan's La Scala Theater (1947-1956). The artist’s works are in the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Russian Museum.