Portrait of Alexandre Benois 1898

Léon Bakst created this portrait of Alexandre Benois in 1916. It shows Benois, the influential Russian artist and critic, absorbed in reading a letter. This image reflects the cultural and intellectual ferment of the Silver Age in Russia, a period marked by artistic innovation alongside social and political unease. Benois was a central figure in the Ballets Russes, a company that revolutionized ballet and set design. The choice to depict Benois reading a letter is telling, highlighting the importance of correspondence and intellectual exchange in the artistic circles of the time. The portrait on the wall behind Benois speaks to the legacy of Russian Imperial patronage in the arts. To fully understand this work, one might delve into the archives of the Ballets Russes or the personal correspondence of Bakst and Benois, resources that help us understand art as deeply embedded in social context.