Robert Bénard

Robert Bénard (1734 in Paris – 1777) was a French engraver.

A variety of plumes. Engraving by R. Bénard after Degerantin Wellcome

Specialized in the technique of engraving, Robert Bénard is mainly famous for having supplied a significant amount of plates (at least 1,800) to the Encyclopédie by Diderot & d'Alembert from 1751.

Later, publisher Charles-Joseph Panckoucke reused many of his productions to illustrate the works of his catalog.

Biographical research established in 2019 that his real name was Jacques Renaud Benard, that he was born in 1731 at Rosny-sous-Bois, and that he died in Paris in 1794. [1]

The signature "Benard fecit" on plates probably indicates the work of his own hand; the signatures "Benard Direx" and "Benard Direxit" indicate the work of the atelier of engravers he directed for many years.

References
  1. Françoise Launay, « Le graveur Jacques Renaud Benard (1731-1794) : un collaborateur majeur de l’Encyclopédie enfin identifié », in: Recherches sur Diderot et sur l'Encyclopédie, 54 | 2019 « Diderot et l'argent », p. 255-273 — extrait en ligne sur OpenEdition.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Bénard.
  • M. Pinault-Sørensen, F. A. Kafker, Notices sur les collaborateurs du recueil de planches de l'Encyclopédie, Recherches sur Diderot et sur l'Encyclopédie, 1995, n° 18-19, p. 204.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.