Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant

Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant was born in Paris in 1845. He was trained in the classical style at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied under the master Alexander Cabanel. Travels to Morocco led him to pursue the Orientalist style in his early career, a choice which ultimately gained him great fame in Europe. Benjamin-Constant taught for many years at the Académie Julian in Paris alongside other famous artists including Jean-Paul Laurens, Jules Joseph Lefebvre, and William-Adolphe Bouguereau. Following a trip to America in 1888, he began working almost exclusively in portraiture. His largest commissions included Queen Victoria and Pope Leo XIII. The Capitol’s painting of Senator James McMillan, created in 1895, illustrates his classical and conservative portrait style. Benjamin-Constant died in 1902, at just 56 years old, due to influenza.

Self Portrait of the Artist, c. 1870-1890. Courtesy of Sheffield Museums.