Exhibition Benoit de Stetto in Kaluga
ARTinvestment.RU   21 ноября 2010

Kaluga Regional Art Museum invites you to the exhibition of works by Swiss artist, a representative of the famous dynasty of Alexander Benois Benois de Zigfridovicha Stetto

yesterday at the Exhibition Hall of the Kaluga Regional Art Museum opened an exhibition of works by Swiss artist Zigfridovicha Alexander Benois de Stetto (1896-1979). This exhibition is on display in St. Petersburg Russian Museum, the Art Gallery of Kursk, in the Tula Museum of Fine Arts. Thus realized an interesting project of the Ministry of Culture of Russia, the Russian Museum and the St. Petersburg public fund to promote culture and art, the purpose of which - back in terms of national culture art of one of the most prominent Russian artists abroad.

Alexander Siegfried Burchard Levi-Benoit de Stetto - this is the full name of the artist - born in St. Petersburg. He was a close relative of the famous masters of the Silver Age Alexander Benois , Eugene Lancere , Serebrya and I simply could not become a painter: in this range, according to Serebryakova child is born with a pencil in hand. He was not yet eighteen, he entered the school Society for the Encouragement of Arts. His teachers - engraver VV Mate , schedule I.Ja.Bilibin , painters A. Rylov and Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich . In 1918, Alexander Zigfridovich began to study architecture at the Petrograd government of free artistic and educational workshops (as was known at that time, the Academy of Arts). His mentor was another of his famous relative - the architect Leonti N. Benoit . Together with his cousin, Alexander P. Sokolov Zigfridovich working on a futuristic project of moving towards the sun of the building. However to realize this amazing project could not - due to purely material causes.

In 1920, after the Bolsheviks arrested the whole family LN Benois, the young artist left Soviet Russia and settled in Switzerland, in Bern and later, when he was a Swiss citizen, lived for some time in Paris and Berlin. He married a Danish woman Kama Singer. Designed productions "German Theatre" - for one of the stage work won the Grand Prix of the Arts Berlin. Back in Switzerland, he settled in Geneva.

It would seem, Benoit de Stetto - a typical cosmopolitan artist, painter European warehouse. But it is not. It is noteworthy that the Swiss critic, set up with respect and sympathy in relation to the art of Benoit de Stetto nevertheless considered it "non-local" artist. Really very hot, apparently, felt, a Russian (or more precisely - St. Petersburg) to become his art.

and exhibition opening in our art museum, fully demonstrates this feature arts master. The main part of the exhibition included the works, created in Switzerland, France, Germany, the Netherlands. But they are beautiful examples of painting before "World of Art. They are elegant and St. Petersburg in Russian lyrical, sincere.

Is there, indeed, a great figure, created in his youth in Russia: "A girl from the village Neskuchne. There are also paintings of nostalgic order - the Russian still life, still life with a portrait of Alexander I ... Alexandre Benois de Stetto rest of his life he remembered about Russia, he loved her.

very special section of the exhibition - Animalistic: graphic sheets with images of diverse animal. Here and monkeys and hippopotamus, a lion and jaguar. And at the end of life Benoit de Stetto carried away by a so-called "structures" - abstract and semi-abstract compositions. This is sort of a tribute to past artists - young Futurism.

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«... Alexandre Benois de Stetto , all is not well known in Russia, has a lot of talking to art lovers last name. Having got his first job Benoit de Stetto in 1990, until March of 2005, the author of these lines to unravel its mystery. The artist had left Russia after 1917, traveled through Europe and finally in 1929 settled in Geneva, where he lived until his death. In spite of all searches, no trace of the artist Benoit de Stetto in Russia could not find. From an article in the Journal de Geneve (1930) found out that Benoit de Stetto was born in a Swiss family in St. Petersburg, where he later studied at the Academy of Painting. His father was an architect. In 1966, a paper devoted to honoring the artist on the occasion of the 70 th anniversary, it was reported that "... Alexander Benois de Stetto comes from a large and well-known artistic family, which gave the capital city of artists, musicians, sculptors and architects in particular, who have worked personally by the tsar and the XVIII century, while retaining its Swiss citizenship (emphasis mine. - A. T. )".

For the first time in the article mentioned that the godfather of the artist was Leontius Benoit, who was later identified, was his uncle. In his memoirs Alexander Benois any any indication that they were a big family and Benoit di Stetto, has been found. But in 1996 at Sotheby's in London was for sale by its portrait of Alexander Benois de Stetto, written in 1916 Serebrya . On the front side in the left corner was the inscription "Alexander Benois de Stetto, drew Zinaida Serebryakova in Russia Neskuchnii near Kharkov in 1916." Hence, all the same was in Russia an artist - Benoit de Stetto and was related to the family of Benoit. What was this attitude, it was discovered only about ten years later, when able to find the nephew of Alexander Benois de Stetto, G. Benoit. He wrote the history of the Swiss branch of the family, which was first named the artist's father - a Jew Siegfried Levy. Historian of the family wrote: "For my part, I noticed that the silence of our father on his father Siegfried Levi was as complete as for his mother Claire (Clara Alice Benoit. - A. T. ). We knew practically nothing. " Quiet life, and Alexander Benois de Stetto, married in Paris in 1924, the Danish Jewish woman with whom he lived all his life. During the difficult war years, her violin Guarneri has been sold, and her musical career at this end. But she began to paint. Two small still life of Kama Benoit de Stetto located in the collection of the author, talking about her exceptional abilities.

Obviously, this marriage in the family of Benoit has not caused much enthusiasm, here - and complete silence on this about a flashback Alexander Benois. As for Siegfried Levi, he, being a young man in Switzerland, has received Swiss citizenship, which allowed his sons Alexander and Evgeny then also get Swiss citizenship, while taking his mother's surname - Benoit. And so different from its dual-namesake, Alexander Benois, Alexander himself added to the name - the Italian way - the particle "di". So there was a rebirth of artist Alexander Benois de Stetto.

study the Swiss line of the Benois family, the author discovered a portrait of his brother Alexander - Eugene, as well as an indication that it is stored in an art museum in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan (as mentioned serebryakovsky portrait of Alexander). The last link in the search put the Zenaida's mother Serebrya that of Neskuchnyi in a letter to her husband, June 8, 1916 wrote: "Children are happy and healthy - the farm (meaning the family of Levi. - A. T. ) see each other often. Zinok draws Masha, as well as brothers, Levi, who is very nice, educated people, and kids love them. " A month later, on 10 July 1916, EN Lancere write to her husband: "... but in general it draws (daughter Zina. - A. T. ) a lot, one session after another ... Zhenyu or Shura Levi .... " Family secrets, Alexander Benois de Stetto kept until his death.

Since the first acquisition of works of Benoit de Stetto in 1990, meeting the author supplemented with four other works by the artist and two works of his wife, Kama. Many of their works are in other private collections in Switzerland. But far more of them are now in Russia, where he was born and educated - in the spirit of family tradition - at the architectural department of the Imperial Academy of Arts Russian-Swiss artist Alexander Benois Zigfridovich Levi di Stetto ».

Tikhonov AA Russian artists in Switzerland:
from Matveeva to Benoit de Stetto //Russian art. 2005. № 3.

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exhibition is open until 12 December 2010.

Source: mkrf.ru , rusiskusstvo.ru , artinvestment.ru