Franz Benque (12 March 1841 – 30 March 1921), known in Brazil as Francisco Benque, was a German photographer.

Biography

Son of a professor, Benque was born in

Ludwigslust Ludwigslust () is a central castle town of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, 40 km south of Schwerin. Since 2011 it has been part of the Ludwigslust-Parchim district. Ludwigslust is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. The former royal re ...

, nowadays, a city located in the

Ludwigslust-Parchim Ludwigslust-Parchim is a district in the west of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The district seat is Parchim, a branch office of the administration is located in Ludwigslust. After Mecklenburgische Seenplatte, it is the second-biggest distri ...

district in

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

, (northern Germany). He received lessons of photography from C.C. Hersen before moving to the then

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

city of Trieste in 1864, where he opened a

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

in partnership with the Italian

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

Guglielmo Sebastianutti (1825–1881), marrying Sebastianutti' stepdaughter, Isabella, in 1868. Despite being recognized by the local press and specialized organizations, receiving – among other things – a silver medal in the

World Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

of Paris in 1867,Schaukal, Barbara
''Sebastianutti & Benque – Five Photographers. Four Generations. Three Continents''
. Retrieved 1 April 2008 Benque returned to (Germany) in 1869 and opened a studio with his cousin Conrad Kindermann in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

. One year later, in 1870, immigrated with his family to Brazil. With Alberto Henschel (1827–1882), a German from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

that migrated to Brazil in 1866, owner of the company ''Photographia Allemã'' (''German Photography'') with studios in

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

and

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

, Benque established the partnership ''Henschel & Benque Photographia Allemã'' that would become one of the most renowned Brazilian photography houses in that

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

. In 1878 Benque returned to

Trieste, Italy Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the regional decentralization entity of Trieste. Trieste is located at the head ...

and continued to work with Mr. Sebastianutti. In 1903, he moved to the Austrian city of

Villach Villach (; ; ; ) is the seventh-largest city in Austria and the second-largest in the federal state of Carinthia. It is an important traffic junction for southern Austria and the whole Alpe-Adria region. , the population is 61,887. Together wit ...

, where he later died, in 1921.

References

Bibliography

* Schiffer-Ekhart, Armgard: ''Sebastianutti & Benque. Fünf Fotografen. Vier Generationen. Drei Kontinente.'' ext of Barbara Schaukal catalog of the exposition, Graz, museum Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, 16.10.-13.11.1997. * Karp Vasquez, Pedro: ''Fotografós Alemães no Brasil do Século XIX, Deutsche Fotografen des 19. Jahrhunderts in Brasilien'', ed. Metalivros, published in 2000. * Schwede, Sandra: ''Mit Licht und Tücke'', Die Frühzeit der Photographie im Großherzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1839–1880), ed. Tectum Verlag, Marburg 2006, also: Universidade de Greifswald diss. 2006. 1841 births 1921 deaths Photographers from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania People from Ludwigslust German expatriates in Brazil {{Germany-photographer-stub