Nicholas Benois

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Nicholas Benois (Russian: Николай Леонтьевич Бенуа, 1813-1898) was a Russian architect who worked in Peterhof and other suburbs of St Petersburg.

Benois was born of French parents in Russia and studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1827 to 1836. Eight years later, he was appointed a court architect to Nicholas I of Russia and oversaw several projects in the town of Peterhof, notably the Principal Imperial Stables (1847-52). He was quite unique in 19th-century Russia in adhering to the Gothic Revival style of architecture and decoration.

Benois designed some of the first railway stations in Russia, notably in Strelna, Tsarskoe Selo, and New Peterhof, with the latter considered to be his masterpiece.

By his marriage to Camilla Cavos, daughter of the architect who designed Mariinsky Theatre, Nicholas had three sons. Of these, Alexander Benois specialized in stage design, Albert Benois was a painter, and Leon Benois became a distinguished architect. His grandchildren included Eugene Lanceray and Zinaida Serebriakova.