Antoine Benoist (painter)
Antoine Benoist (1632 - 1717) was a French painter and sculptor and served as personal painter to King Louis XIV. He was accepted as a member of the Académie Royale, Paris in 1681.
Benoist’s fame grew after he exhibited forty-three wax figurines of the French “Royal Circle” at his residence in Paris. Thereafter, the king authorized the figurines to be shown throughout France. His work became so highly regarded that James II of England invited him to visit England in 1684. There he executed works of the English king and members of his royal court.
Today, Antoine Benoist’s work can be viewed among the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and the Château de Versailles.
Gallery
References
- Benoist-Charleville Family Papers, 1739-1949, Missouri Historical Society Archives
- Histoire des grandes familles françaises du Canada : ou Aperçu sur le chevalier Benoist et quelques familles contemporaines, Daniel, François, 1867
- Grove Dictionary of Art
- Ann Gulbransen’s genealogy site, www.gulbangi.com – All material used by permission
- John F. Benoist family documents