Louis XIV, King of France, who is known in history as the Sun King, commissioned the grandiose Palace of Versailles not far from Paris, and it became the principal residence of the rulers of France. Russian painter Alexandre Benois created large cycles of works featuring 17th-century Versailles: Last Promenades of Louis XIV, the Versailles series.

Benois produced his series on the basis of observations made from nature, under the influence of old prints, as well as memoirs, poems and other literary sources. The painter traveled to France more than once, and during his first stay in Paris, he made sketches from nature that were used as the foundation of his series afterwards. He depicted luxurious architectural ensembles and parks in all their grandeur and splendor. In Versailles, he discovered the beauty of architecture, and showcased it in a mixed technique, using simultaneously watercolors, gouache, tempera and pastel.

Among the Versailles series was the elegant watercolor Versailles. The Children’s Fountain included in the exhibition. Alexandre Benois portrayed the most mysterious and poetic of the four seasons – autumn. The sheet represents the image of a round-shaped fountain located in the northern part of the Versailles Park. It is evening time, and the setting sun tints the horizon with golden hues and is reflected in the mirror-like surface of the pond. A lady and a gentleman dressed in the Louis XIV style are walking along the lane. The fountain is adorned by bronze putti, decorative figures of chubby boys, a peculiar feature in Baroque and Renaissance art. The children’s figures seem to be alive, as though they turn their curious looks to watch the walkers pass by.

Alexandre Benois was a painter, an art critic and art historian. He created a series of illustrations for works of Alexander Pushkin: to the poem The Bronze Horseman and the long story The Queen of Spades. He was the stage designer of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in France, which made Russian ballet famous abroad.