Exhibition "Alexander Benois. On the 150th Anniversary of the Artist’s Birth"
The name of Alexander Benois, a prominent member of the "Mir Iskusstva" (World of Art) artistic movement, is closely associated with the "Silver Age" of Russian culture. A highly educated man, a gifted artist who showed his talent in many ways and in various spheres of cultural and humanitarian activities. His paintings and drawings, theatrical sketches, illustrations for the classic Russian literature, series of critical articles on fine arts, theater and music, works on the history of Russian and European art shaped the aesthetic sense of the people of the early twentieth century. His retrospective paintings contributed to an objective assessment of past events in the history of Russia and the West. His numerous landscapes of the Saint Petersburg and royal residences in its suburbs, also as his articles in "Mir Iskusstva" (World of Art) magazine and "Rech" (Speech) newspaper revealed to contemporaries the beauty of the capital city. The musical and dramatic performances designed and staged by Benois contributed to the reform of theater in Russia and in the world. His vision of the phenomenon of the book influenced the further development of the national book publishing industry.
The exhibition displays the master's paintings and graphic works from the collection of the Russian Museum - historical and genre compositions, landscapes, book illustrations, theatrical sketches. The exhibition includes the famous series of paintings and watercolors "The Last Promenades of Louis XIV" and other compositions devoted to scenes of Russian and foreign history, as well as sketches for ballet performances.
