Benois Family Museum

There are many world-famous artists, but artistic dynasties are few. Among them, the Benois family rightfully holds a special place. This lineage has French origins. As often happened with many foreign families in Russia, the Benois family, combining French and German blood, became Russified and became the progenitor of numerous Russian figures in the arts. Over two hundred years in Russia, the family expanded, enriching the dynasty with new surnames. Among them are many gifted individuals who earned recognition beyond the artistic field. But the true fame of the dynasty is owed precisely to those who dedicated their lives to art. This is a constellation of talented architects, painters, sculptors, composers, and performers. The Benois family united the dynasties of Lansere, Serebryakov, Shreter, Tamanyan, Ustinov, Cherepnin. The "Benois Family Museum" is dedicated to those who enriched Russian and world culture.

In the mid-19th century, two Ladies-in-Waiting corps were built next to the summer imperial palace according to the design of architect Nikolai Leontyevich Benois. This man, whom Emperor Nicholas I appointed as the chief architect of Peterhof, became the founder of the Benois artistic dynasty. For many of its members, Peterhof was a "native place," regardless of how their fates later unfolded. The very atmosphere of Peterhof tuned one to the perception of art, reminding of the great masters of the past.

On September 27, 1988, an art museum dedicated to this unique dynasty was solemnly opened in one of the corps of the Ladies-in-Waiting house. The idea of its creation belonged to the architect Benois’s grandson, the famous artist of the "La Scala" theater, Nikolai Alexandrovich Benois. His theatrical works, letters, and photographs from the family archive are displayed in the museum. Graphics and architecture, theatrical-decorative art and sculpture, painting and cinema, music and literature — representatives of the Benois family made a worthy contribution to the development of all these art forms. The intimate nature of the exhibition allows showing not only recognized masterpieces but also childhood drawings, as well as works through which one can trace the beginnings of the formation of the style of a particular artist.

The museum in Peterhof has become the center of the artistic heritage of the Benois family, and today many have the opportunity to get acquainted with such a unique phenomenon in Russian and world culture.

Sources:

https://peterhofmuseum.ru/objects/peterhof/muzei_semyi_benua