Background
Benjamin Constant was born in Paris on June 10, 1845. He spent his childhood in Toulouse.
Benjamin Constant was born in Paris on June 10, 1845. He spent his childhood in Toulouse.
He entered the École des Beaux Arts in Paris in 1867, where he was a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel.
He traveled in Spain and North Africa where he found the dramatic subject matter that made him famous. He was also successful in decorative and portrait painting. He painted the ceilings for many public buildings, including those for the City Hall, the Sorbonne, and the Opéra Comique in Paris and for the Capitol in Toulouse. His portraits of high society were exhibited in Paris salons and at the Royal Society in London. His works include paintings of Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra. Several of his paintings are in art galleries in the United States. Constant died in Paris on May 26, 1902.
Benjamin-Constant painted Pope Leo XIII, Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom (1901), Lord John Lumley-Savile, and Henri Blowitz (1902). He was a commander of the Legion of Honor.
His large canvas, The Entrance of Mahomet II into Constantinople (Musée des Augustins Toulouse), received a medal in 1876. His portrait Mons fils André (Luxembourg) was awarded a medal of honor at the Salon in 1896.
