Alexandre Nikolayevich Benois (May 4, 1870, St Petersburg - February 9, 1960, Paris) was probably the most important member of the artistic Benois family. His influence on the modern ballet and stage design has been immense. May 4 is the 124th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (125th in leap years). ... 1870 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... A performance of The Nutcracker ballet Ballet is the name given to a specific dance form and technique. ... Design as a process can take many forms depending on the object being designed and the individual or individuals participating. ...

Royal Promenade at Versailles (1906).

Alexander's father Nicholas and brother Leon were prominent Russian architects. He didn't plan to devote his life to art and graduated from the Faculty of Law, St Petersburg University in 1894. Three years later, while in Versailles, he painted a series of watercolours depicting Last Promenades of Louis XIV. When exhibited by Pavel Tretyakov in 1897, they brought him to attention of Sergei Diaghilev and Leon Bakst. Together they founded the art magazine Mir iskusstva which aimed at promoting Art Nouveau in Russia. Categories: Russia-related stubs | Universities and colleges in Russia | Saint Petersburg ... 1894 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Versailles, formerly the capital city of the kingdom of France, is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and is still an important administrative and judicial center. ... Watercolor is a painting technique making use of water-soluble pigments that are either transparent or opaque and are formulated with gum to bond the pigment to the paper. ... Louis XIV King of France and Navarre By Hyacinthe Rigaud (1701) Louis XIV (Louis-Dieudonné) (September 5, 1638–September 1, 1715) reigned as King of France and King of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death. ... Tretyakovs portrait by Repin (1883) Tretyakov Pavel Mikhailovich (1832 - 1898) was a businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist. ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (Сергей Павлович Дягилев) (March 19, 1872 – August 19, 1929), often known as Serge, was a Russian ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes from which many famous dancers and choreographers would later arise. ... Leon Bakst (1866-1942) was a Russian painter and scene- and costume- designer. ... Miriskusniki tended to idealize the 18th century as the quintessential Age of Art. ... Alfons Mucha, lithographed poster Dancel (1898). ...

During the first decade of the new century, Benois continued to edit Mir iskusstva but also pursued his scholarly interests. He prepared and printed several monographs on the 19th-century Russian art and Tsarskoe Selo. From 1918 to 1926, he ran the gallery of Old Masters in the Hermitage Museum, to which he secured his brother's heirloom - Leonardo's Madonna Benois. In 1903, he printed his illustrations to Pushkin's Bronze Horseman which have since been recognized as one of the landmarks in the genre. Tsarskoye Selo (Царское Село in Russian, may be translated as “Tsar’s Village”), a former residence of the royal families and visiting nobility 24 km south of St. ... 1918 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Hermitage Museum (Эрмитаж) in St. ... Leonardo redirects here. ... The Benois Madonna Leonardos Madonna and Child, called the Benois Madonna from a past owner, was painted about 1475-1478. ... Aleksandr Pushkin was a Russian poet and a founder of modern Russian literature Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (Russian: Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Пу́шкин) (June 6 (May 26, O.S.), 1799 - February 10 (January 29, O.S.), 1837), Russian author, whom many consider the greatest Russian poet and the founder of modern Russian literature. ... The Bronze Horseman is a poem by Aleksandr Pushkin which is widely considered to be one of the most significant works of Russian literature. ...

In 1901, Benois was appointed scenic director of the Mariinsky Theatre. Since then, he devoted most of his time to stage design and decor. Les Sylphides (1909), Giselle (1910) and Petrushka (1911) are counted among his greatest triumphs. Although he worked primarily with Diaghilev for the Ballets Russes, he simultaneously collaborated with the Moscow Art Theatre and other notable theatres of Europe. His Memoirs were published in two volumes in 1955. The Russian painter Zinaida Serebryakova was his niece, and the British actor Sir Peter Ustinov was his grand nephew. The Maryinsky (or Mariinsky) Theatre (or Theater), is the St Petersburg theatre where the Mariinsky Ballet is located. ... The ballet Les Sylphides premiered on June 2nd, 1902. ... Giselle, danced to familiar music by the French ballet and opera composer Adolphe Adam, and choreographed by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot, is a Romantic-era ballet first danced in Paris in 1840. ... Petrushka is a ballet with music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. ... The ballet company Ballets Russes created a sensation in Western Europe in the early years of the 20th century, due to the great vitality of Russian ballet, as compared with what was current in France at the time. ... At the Dressing-Table, 1909 Zinaida Evgenyevna Serebryakova (December 10, 1884 - September 19, 1967) is the first Russian woman-painter of distinction. ... Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (born Peter Alexander von Ustinow) (April 16, 1921 – March 29, 2004) was a British-born and raised actor, writer, dramatist and raconteur. ...