Charles Benazech (1767/68 – 1794) was an English

portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

and

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

painter, and aquatint engraver. Prints of his painting of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

and family, just before the monarch's execution during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, achieved a wide circulation.

Life and work

Benazach was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

around 1767, the son of

Peter Paul Benazech Peter Paul Benazech (1744? - 1783?) was an English engraver. Life and work Benazech is said to have been born in London about the year 1744. He was a pupil of François Vivares, and worked as a draughtsman and engraver both in London and in Pari ...

. In 1782, at the age of fifteen, he went to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and on his return stayed for a time in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he studied under

Greuze Jean-Baptiste Greuze (, 21 August 1725 – 4 March 1805) was a French painter of portraits, genre scenes, and history painting. Biography Early life Greuze was born at Tournus, a market town in Burgundy. He is generally said to have formed h ...

, and witnessed the outbreak of the French Revolution. This eventful period furnished him with the subjects of four pictures by which he became known: ''The Address of Louis XVI at the Bar of the National Convention'', ''The Separation of Louis XVI from his Family'', ''The last Interview between Louis XVI and his Family'' and ''Louis XVI ascending the Scaffold''. These were engraved by Luigi Schiavonetti. He also painted ''The last Interview between Charles I and his Children'' engraved by

Thomas Gaugain Thomas Gaugain (1756–1831) was a Stipple engraving, stipple-engraver. Life Gaugain was born at Abbeville in France in 1756 and moved to England with his family whilst still young. He studied engraving under Richard Houston. He began his art ...

, as well as some subjects from the poets and several good portraits. He was a member of the

Florentine Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze ("academy of fine arts of Florence") is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasari. M ...

, and exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in the years 1790 and 1791. He likewise engraved a few plates in aquatint, including the ''Couronnement de la Rosiere'', in which he attempted to imitate the style of Philibert-Louis Debucourt, and also some portraits after himself, as well as two of Henry IV, king of France, and Sully, after Pourbus, which are signed with the fictitious name of Frieselheim. Benezach died in London in the summer of 1794, aged just 27 years.

References

Attribution: *

External links

Charles Benezach on ArtnetPortraits by Benazech
(National Portyrait Gallery, London)
Paintings of Louis XVI
(L'histoire par L'image") {{DEFAULTSORT:Benazech, Charles 1760s births 1794 deaths 18th-century English painters English male painters English portrait painters English history painters English engravers Painters from London 18th-century English male artists