Nicholas Benois
{{Short description|Russian architect (1813–1898)}}
{{family name hatnote|Leontievich|Benois|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{expand Russian|topic=bio|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox artist
| native_name = {{nobold|Николай Бенуа}}
| image = Benua NL.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Portrait by Viktor Dumitrashko, 1901; Russian Museum, Saint Petersburg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1813|07|01}}
| birth_place = Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1898|12|11|1813|07|01}}
| death_place = Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
| resting_place = {{ill|Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Petersburg|lt=Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary|ru|Храм Посещения Пресвятой Девой Марией Елизаветы (Санкт-Петербург)}}, Saint Petersburg (burial destroyed)
| known_for = Architecture
| alma_mater = {{Imperial Academy of Arts|Alumni|1836}}
| education = {{Imperial Academy of Arts|Member|1847}}
{{Imperial Academy of Arts|Professor|1857}}
| spouse = {{marriage|Camilla Cavos|1849|1891|end=d}}
| children = 5, including Alexandre, Albert and Leon
| family = Benois
| awards = {{Imperial Academy of Arts|Medal|1836}}
| notable_works =
}}
Nicholas or Nikolai Leontievich Benois ({{langx|ru|Николай Леонтьевич Бенуа|Nikolay Leontyevich Benua}}; {{OldStyleDate|13 July|1813|1 July}} – {{OldStyleDate|23 December|1898|11 December}}){{cite book |title=The supplement to The modern encyclopedia of Russian, Soviet and Eurasian history: Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic - Bugaev, Boris Nikolaevich |date=1995 |publisher=Academic International Press |location=Gulf Breeze, Fla |pages=122}} was a Russian architect who worked in Peterhof and other suburbs of St. Petersburg.{{cite book |last1=Chuchvaha |first1=Hanna |title=Art periodical culture in late imperial Russia: 1898-1917 print modernism in transition |date=2016 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden Boston |isbn=9789004301405 |pages=68}}
Biography
Benois was born in St. Petersburg, to Anna Katarina (née Groppe), who was of German descent, and a French father, Louis Jules Benois (from Brie, Saint-Ouen-sur-Morin). He studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1827 to 1836. Eight years later, he was appointed a court architect to Nicholas I of Russia and oversaw several projects in the town of Peterhof, notably the Principal Imperial Stables (1847–52). He was quite notable in 19th-century Russia for adhering to the Gothic Revival style of architecture and decoration.
Benois designed some of the first railway stations in Russia, notably in Strelna, Tsarskoe Selo and New Peterhof, the last being considered his masterpiece. Later in his career he also worked in the Caucasus, where he designed the Summer Palace of the Viceroy in Likani, Georgia.{{Cite book|title=European Architects in Tbilisi|last=Mania|first=Maia|publisher=Council of Europe|year=2006|location=Tbilisi}}
By his marriage to Camilla, daughter of Alberto Cavos who designed Mariinsky Theatre, Nicholas had four sons. Of these, Alexander Benois specialized in stage design, Albert Benois was a painter, and Leon Benois became a distinguished architect. His daughter married the sculptor Eugeny Alexandrovich Lanceray, and that marriage produced the artists Zinaida Serebriakova and Eugene Lanceray. The actor Peter Ustinov was a great-grandson.
Selected works
Petergof, the building of post office.jpg|Post office in Peterhof
Svenska teatern after 1930.jpg|Swedish Theatre in Helsinki
Новый Петрогоф станция.JPG|{{ill|Новый Петергоф (станция)|ru|lt=New Peterhof Railway Station}}
References
External links
- [http://win-petergof.narod.ru/Petergof.doc2/benua.htm Nicholas Benois in Peterhof] {{in lang|ru}}
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Category:Architects from Saint Petersburg
Category:People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd