Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant (also known as Benjamin-Constant), born Jean-Joseph Constant (10 June 1845 – 26 May 1902), was a French painter and etcher best known for his

Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

subjects and

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

Biography

Benjamin-Constant was born in Paris. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, where he was a pupil of

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French Painting, painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the Academic art, academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. He was Napoleon ...

. A journey to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

in 1872 strongly influenced his early artistic development and lead him to produce Romantic scenes under the spell of

Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

. Among his noted works in this vein are ''Last Rebels'', ''Justice in the

Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

'' (both in the Luxembourg Gallery), ''Les Chérifas'', and ''Moroccan Prisoners'' (Bordeaux). His large canvas, '' The Entrance of Mahomet II into Constantinople'' (Musée des Augustins Toulouse), received a medal in 1876. After 1880, he changed his manner, devoting himself to

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

decorations and to

s. Prominent examples include the great plafond in the

Hôtel de Ville, Paris The (, ''City hall (administration), City Hall'') is the city hall of Paris, France, standing on the in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th arrondissement. The south wing was originally constructed by Francis I of France, Francis I beginning ...

, entitled ''Paris Convening the World''; his paintings in the New Sorbonne, representing ''Literature'', ''The Sciences'', and the ''Academy of Paris''; and the plafond of the Opéra Comique theatre. He was distinguished as a portrait painter, especially in England, where he was a favorite of the

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

. His portrait ''Mons fils André'' (Luxembourg) was awarded a medal of honor at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

in 1896. Benjamin-Constant painted

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom (1901), Lord John Lumley-Savile, and Henri Blowitz (1902). He was made a member of the institute in 1893, and was a commander of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. He visited the United States several times, and painted a number of portraits. The

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

in New York exhibited a large painting by Benjamin-Constant entitled ''Justinian in Council''. The painting was returned by the Metropolitan to the owners family in 1928. It was purchased by John Ringling in 1929 and is currently on exhibit in the Ringling Museum in Sarasota Benjamin-Constant also taught at

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

; among his pupils were

Henry Ossawa Tanner Henry Ossawa Tanner (June 21, 1859 – May 25, 1937) was an American artist who spent much of his career in France. He became the first African-American art, African-American painter to gain international acclaim. Tanner moved to Paris, France, ...

and Angèle Delasalle, the miniaturist Alice Beckington and the Scottish artist W. S. Shanks. He was a writer of repute, contributing a number of studies on contemporary French painters. Along with fellow artists, Nasreddine Dinet, Paul Leroy,

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (; 11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academic painting, academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living art ...

and curator/ art historian, Léonce Bénédite, he was one of the founders of the Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français.Benjamin, R., ''Orientalist Aesthetics: Art, Colonialism, and French North Africa, 1880-1930,'' University of California Press, 2003, p.57 He died in Paris on 26 May 1902.

Gallery

Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant - Arabes assis.jpg, ''Arabes assis'' (1877)
Benjamin-Constant-Arabian Nights.jpg, ''Les nuits arabes''
1879 Benjamin-Constant - Favorite of the Emir.jpg, ''La favorite d'émir'' (1879)
Judith MET DT2818.jpg, ''

Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

''
Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant - Marchand de tapis à Tanger.jpg, ''Marchand de tapis à Tanger'' (1883)
La Emperatriz Theodora - Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant.jpg, '' Théodora'' (1887)
Benjamin-Constant-The Throne Room In Byzantium.jpg, ''The Throne Room In Byzantium''
Benjamin-Constant-The Entry of Mahomet II into Constantinople-1876.jpg, ''Entrée de Mehmed II dans Constantinople'' (1876)
Jean-Joseph Benjamin Constant-Reclining Odalisque.jpg, Reclining Odalisque
Capitole Toulouse - Salle des Illustres - L'entrée à Toulouse du pape Urbain II en 1096 par Benjamin Constant.jpg, ''Entrée du Pape Urbain à Toulouse''

Publications

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin-Constant, Jean-Joseph 1845 births 1902 deaths 19th-century French painters 20th-century French painters 19th-century French male artists 20th-century French male artists Academic art Commanders of the Legion of Honour French male non-fiction writers French male painters French biographers Academic staff of the Académie Julian Members of the Académie des beaux-arts French Orientalist painters

Biography

Gallery

See also

Publications

References

External links