Alexandre Benois and Denis Diderot

Abstract

The article is the first to consider the influence of the views of Denis Diderot (“Salons”) on the works of Alexandre Benois — as an art historian, first of all — on his “The History of painting of all times and peoples”. As a result of a comparative analysis of the texts by two authors, it was established that both Benois and Diderot paid the greatest attention to the works of J. B. S. Chardin, F. Boucher, C. (Sh. A.) Vanloo, J.-B. Greuze, J.Robert. It has also been established that Benois described the art of Chardin and Boucher practically in the words of Diderot. The source study analysis of Benois’s article “The Collection of Drawings by Stepan Yaremich”, as well as Benois’s “Art letters” of different years, made it possible to find out his own attitude to Busher. The source study analysis of Benois’s memoirs “My Memories” and the work of R. Muther “The History of Painting in the 19th Century” made it possible to find out the source of Benois’s negative assessment of narrative and edifying in the art of Dreams — precisely those qualities that Diderot especially appreciated in the works of this artist. Comparative analysis of the text of Benois’s article “On Narrative in Painting”, his work “History of Russian Painting in the 19th Century” with the text of “Salons” by Diderot made it possible to find out that Benois used at the beginning of his activity the Diderot’s method of an expanded description.