Nicholas Benois (1813–1898) was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n architect who worked in Peterhof and other suburbs of St Petersburg.

Benois was born of French

French people

The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 parents in Russia and studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts

Imperial Academy of Arts

The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...

 from 1827 to 1836. Eight years later, he was appointed a court architect to Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I of Russia

Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...

 and oversaw several projects in the town of Peterhof, notably the Principal Imperial Stables (1847-52). He was quite notable in 19th-century Russia for adhering to the Gothic Revival style of architecture and decoration.

Benois designed some of the first railway stations in Russia, notably in Strelna

Strelna

Strelna is a municipal settlement in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, situated about halfway between St. Petersburg proper and Petergof and overlooking the shore of the Gulf of Finland...

, Tsarskoe Selo, and New Peterhof, with the latter considered to be his masterpiece.

By his marriage to Camilla, daughter of Alberto Cavos

Alberto Cavos

Alberto Cavos was a Russian–Italian architect best known for his theatre designs, the builder of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow .-Early years:Alberto Cavos was born in Saint Petersburg to Venetian opera composer Catterino Cavos Alberto Cavos (Russified...

 who designed Mariinsky Theatre

Mariinsky Theatre

The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...

, Nicholas had three sons. Of these, Alexander Benois specialized in stage design, Albert Benois

Albert Benois

Albert Nikolayevitch Benois was a talented Russian water-colorist. The Benois family produced many talented artists over several generations. Albert was the elder son of architect Nicholas Benois, brother of artist and theatrical designer Alexander Benois, uncle of the painter Zinaida...

 was a painter, and Leon Benois

Leon Benois

Leon Benois was a Russian architect. He was the son of architect Nicholas Benois, the brother of artists Alexandre Benois and Albert Benois, and the grandfather of the actor Sir Peter Ustinov...

 became a distinguished architect. His grandchildren included Eugene Lanceray

Eugene Lanceray

Yevgeny Yevgenyevich Lansere , also spelled Eugene Lanceray , was a Russian graphic artist, painter, sculptor, mosaicist, and illustrator, associated stylistically with Mir iskusstva ....

 and Zinaida Serebriakova

Zinaida Serebriakova

Zinaida Yevgenyevna Serebriakova was among the first female Russian painters of distinction.-Family:Zinaida Serebriakova was born on the estate of Neskuchnoye near Kharkov into one of Russia's most refined and artistic families.She belonged to the artistic Benois family...

.