Benois, Alexandre Nicolaievich
(1870–1960)> ARTIST
Benois, Alexandre Nicolaievich (3 May 1870, St. Petersburg; 9 February 1960, Paris), artist, was captivated by the theatre even as a child, when he was taken to fairs to see the puppet shows in his native city that featured the masked characters of Russian folklore. At age 13, he discovered ballet, the dancer Marie Petipa , and Coppélia . and eventually he came to know Serge Diaghilev , who asked him to help create the sets for Sylvia with Léon Bakst and Serov . When Diaghilev took his…