Nikolai Bogdanov Belsky

Nikolai Bogdanov-Belsky was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 1870. He was the son of a prominent architect, Nicholas Benois, and the grandson of an Italian painter, Albert Cavos. He studied law at the Saint Petersburg University, but also took art lessons from his uncle, Alexander Litovchenko, and later from Ilya Repin. He became interested in the history and culture of 18th-century France and Russia, and painted many scenes depicting the life and customs of those periods. He also illustrated books, such as Pushkin's The Bronze Horseman and The Queen of Spades, and Tolstoy's War and Peace. He was one of the founders of the World of Art magazine and movement, along with his friends Sergei Diaghilev, Léon Bakst, and others. The World of Art aimed to promote the aesthetic values and individuality of the artists, and to revive the traditions of the Russian art. Bogdanov-Belsky also wrote many articles and books on art history, such as The History of Russian Painting in the 19th Century and The Art of the 18th Century in France and Russia. He was a curator of the Hermitage Museum and the Imperial Theatres, and a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts. He also worked as a scene and costume designer for the Ballets Russes, a famous ballet company founded by Diaghilev in 1909. He created designs for many ballets, such as Petrushka, The Sleeping Princess, Le Pavillon d'Armide, and others. His designs were characterized by elegance, sophistication, and historical accuracy. He also collaborated with composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Nikolai Tcherepnin, and Claude Debussy. He moved to Paris in 1926, after the Russian Revolution, and continued his artistic and scholarly activities. He died in Paris in 1960, at the age of 89. He is regarded as one of the most influential and versatile Russian artists of the early 20th century.