Benjamin-Constant, Jean-Joseph |
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BORN 10 Jun 1845, Paris - DIED 26 May 1902, Paris: rue Ampère, 17th GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière de Montmartre, 20 Avenue Rachel (division 23, ligne 15, numéro 10, avenue des Carrières) |
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Benjamin Constant was the son of Joseph Jean-Baptiste Constant, a geographer of the postal administration. His mother died in 1847 and he moved to Toulouse with his father. He was a pupil of Jules Garipuy at the École des beaux-arts in Toulouse. He won several prizes and was able to continue his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1866. He studied under Alexandre Cabanel. After failing to obtain the Prix de Rome twice in 1868 to 1869 he ended his studies. He started painting orientalist works and visited Tangier in 1870 together with Georges Clairin and Henri Regnault. In 1871 he returned to France and saw action in the Franco-Prussian War. On 18 March 1871 he married the teacher Delphine Badier in Paris. In 1871 he travelled in Spain, where he met Marià Fortuny (1838-1874). He lived in Tangier for eighteen months and in 1873 he returned to France. Delphine died on 28 October 1873. He shared a studio in the Montmartre area with Edmond Yarz (1845-1920) and the orientalist paintings that he exhibited at the Salon until 1889 were much wanted. In 1875 he married Catherine Jeanne Arago (1851-1909), the daughter of the politician Emmanuel Arago. They had two sons. In 1883 he visited Tangier once more and in 1888 he travelled to the USA and Canada. In the same year he succeeded Gustave Boulanger as teacher at the Académie Julian. He was elected into the Académie des beaux-arts in 1893. Benjamin-Constant painted the portraits of Queen Victoria and Pope Leo XIII. He died in Paris in 1902. Related persons • was teacher of Adams, John Quincy • is son-in-law/daughter-in-law of Arago, Emmanuel • was teacher of Benner, Many • was pupil of Cabanel, Alexandre • travelled with Regnault, Henri |
| Images |
 The grave of Jean Joseph Benjamin-Constant at the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris. Picture by Androom (31 Oct 2022) |
Sources • Winkler Prins Encyclopedie (editie 1909), 1909 • Benjamin-Constant - Wikipédia (FR) |
