BLANC, JEAN LE (French), also known under the name of Blanck, worked at the Paris Medal Mint, from the accession of Louis XV., in 1715, until his death, on the 12th December 1749. He was admitted at the Academy in 1718, "on the presentation of three medals. " The date of his birth is believed to be 1676 or 1677. Although the work of this artist is considerable, very little is known of him. The following is a fairly exhaustive list of his productions : 1715 . Destruction of Heresy; — Fortification of 150 towns; — 1719. Renunciation; — Battle of Denain ; — Barcelona taken; — 1720. Regular Attendance of the King at Councils; — Surrender of the city of Erfurt ; — Bust of Louis XV. ; — 1721. Battle of Rocroy; — Gravelines taken ; — Treaty of the Pyrenees ; — Treaty of Pisa ; — Coronation of Louis XIV.; — Arras receives aid; - 1722. The Infanta enters Paris ; — Coronation of the King ; — Head of the King;— Busts of the King and Infanta, face to face (2 var.); — 1723. To the Memory of Louis XIV. ; — Coming of Age of Louis XV. ; — Dunkirk taken ; — Conference for the Peace of the Pyrenees; — 1724. The Academy of Architecture; — Throne of Justice, on either side of which stand Religion and Justice; legend : Hinc suprema lex; — 1725. Peace of Westphalia; — Chamber of Justice; — 1726. Dixmuyden and Deinse taken; 1727. Engagement of Leuze; — 1728. Fourteen cities taken; — Barcelona taken ; — Head of the King ; — 1729. 150 towns fortified ; — Campaign of 1667; — Douai taken; — 1730. Surrender of four towns on the Rhine; — Surrender of the citadel of Casale ; — 1731. St. Venant and Mardick taken ; —The " Grands Jours" ; — Courtray and Oudenarde taken; — 1732. Marriage of Marie de Gonzague; — The Manufactories; — 1733. Acquisition of Dunkirk; — Gratifications to literary Celebrities; — The three Victories ; — 1734. Battle of Nordlingen; — Piombino taken; — Stenay taken; — 1735. Conquests in Flanders; — Marriage of the King (Head of Maria Theresa) ; — The port of Rochefort ; — 1736. Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle ; — Crossing over the Rhine ; — Battle of Senef; — Battle of Fleurus; — The Elector of Treves reinstated; — Towns surrendered to the King; — Establishment of a general Hospital ; — The King accessible to all his subjects; — 1740. The Campaign of 1645 ; — Battle of Lens; — Liberality of the King during the famine ; — Academy of painting and sculpture ; — 1741. The King takes over the government of the State ; — Death of the Queen Mother; — Head of Louis XIV., young; — 1742. Campaign of Catalonia; — The King remits the contributions due by the Spaniards; — Promotion of the Knights of the Saint-Esprit Order in 1724; — 1743. Lille taken; — The State Apartments ; — Battle of Staffarde; — 1744. Tournay taken; —The Corsican Pyramid demolished; — Institution of the Military Order of St. Louis; — Great Hopes given by the King. The three medals cut by Jean Le Blanc for his admission to the Academy were : Medallic portrait of the Duke of Orleans; — and Allegory on the Regency (2 types). The following are also by him : Bust of the Duchess of Orleans; — Alliance with the Swiss ; — Building of the Church of St. Sulpice ; — Building of the Church of Bagnols; — The Queen enters Paris, 1660; — Engagement of Luzana, 1700; — Nice taken, 1706 ; — Raising of the Siege of Toulon, 1707; — Tortosa taken, 1708; — Peace with Spain, 1720; — The King receiving in audience the Turkish Ambassador, 1721; — Marriage of the King, 1725; — Celebration of the Marriage of the King with Maria Leczinska, 1725 ; — The King protects Sciences and Arts; — The Order of St. Michael, 1729; — Homage to the Duke of Lorraine, 1730; — Metz fortified, 1732 ; — The Main Roads, 1733 ; — Battle of Guastalla, 1734. The artist seldom signed his name in full, but more than half of his medals bear the initials J.B. or J.B.F., which would lead one to think that the two pieces, with that signature assigned by Franks and Grueber, Medallic Illustrations of British History, II, 379, 380, to Jean Bernard really belong to Jean Le Blanc. Bibliography. — J.-J. Guiffrey, La Monnaie des Médailles. Hisloire métallique de Louis XIV. et de Louis XV. d'aprés les documents inédits des Archives Nationales, Paris, 1888-1892.
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
BENOIST, ANTOINE
BENOIST, ANTOINE (French). Painter, and Modeller in wax, 1632- 1717. In the Palace of Versailles there is a medallion in wax of Louis XIV. by this artist. " He was the most distinguished of seventeenth century wax modellers, and Louis XIV. appointed him as "unique sculpteur en cire coloriée". What renders the personality of Benoist of peculiar interest to English connoisseurs is the fact that he was summoned to the court of James II., and is said to have executed wax portraits of most ot the cel...
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BENOIST, ANTOINE (French). Painter, and Modeller in wax, 1632- 1717. In the Palace of Versailles there is a medallion in wax of Louis XIV. by this artist. " He was the most distinguished of seventeenth century wax modellers, and Louis XIV. appointed him as "unique sculpteur en cire coloriée". What renders the personality of Benoist of peculiar interest to English connoisseurs is the fact that he was summoned to the court of James II., and is said to have executed wax portraits of most ot the cel...
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BENSHEIMER, JOHANN
BENSHEIMER, JOHANN (Germ.). Medallist, Designer and Engraver of Breslau, between 1685 and 1693. His signature I B. appears on a medal, struck probably in 1666, of the Empress Margaret Theresa of Austria, second consort of Leopold I. By him are also two large medals of John George II. of Saxony, 1658, and Leopold I. ; others commemorating the Peace of Oliva, 1660, with view of the city of Danzig; — Baptismal and Religious Medals, Love tokens, &c. This copper-plate engraver's name appears also as ...
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BENSHEIMER, JOHANN (Germ.). Medallist, Designer and Engraver of Breslau, between 1685 and 1693. His signature I B. appears on a medal, struck probably in 1666, of the Empress Margaret Theresa of Austria, second consort of Leopold I. By him are also two large medals of John George II. of Saxony, 1658, and Leopold I. ; others commemorating the Peace of Oliva, 1660, with view of the city of Danzig; — Baptismal and Religious Medals, Love tokens, &c. This copper-plate engraver's name appears also as ...
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BENZI, MASSIMILIANO SOLDANI
BENZI, MASSIMILIANO SOLDANI (Ital.). A Florentine Painter, Sculptor and Medallist of the seventeenth century ; pupil of Danicle da Volterra and Ciro Ferri. He has left a large number of statuettes and figures in gold and bronze, executed mostly for Queen Christina of Sweden, Pope Innocent XI., and other celebrated persons. He is said to be the author of a large Portrait-medallion of Louis XIV. Bibliography. — A. Durand, Ms. Catalogue of Medallists, &c. — Orlandi, Abecedario. — De Fontenay, Dicti...
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BENZI, MASSIMILIANO SOLDANI (Ital.). A Florentine Painter, Sculptor and Medallist of the seventeenth century ; pupil of Danicle da Volterra and Ciro Ferri. He has left a large number of statuettes and figures in gold and bronze, executed mostly for Queen Christina of Sweden, Pope Innocent XI., and other celebrated persons. He is said to be the author of a large Portrait-medallion of Louis XIV. Bibliography. — A. Durand, Ms. Catalogue of Medallists, &c. — Orlandi, Abecedario. — De Fontenay, Dicti...
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BERCKEL, THEODORE VICTOR VAN
BERCKEL, THEODORE VICTOR VAN (Belg.). Medallist and Mintengraver, born at Bois-le-Duc on the 21. April 1739, died there on the 19. September 1808. From an early age, he showed a pronounced taste for trie study of the Fine Arts, and readily learned drawing. Under Marne, Mint-engraver at Cleves, he was trained as a Diesinker, for which particular branch he seemed to have special abilities. On his return to Holland, he settled at Rotterdam, where he married, and continued practising his art. His re...
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BERCKEL, THEODORE VICTOR VAN (Belg.). Medallist and Mintengraver, born at Bois-le-Duc on the 21. April 1739, died there on the 19. September 1808. From an early age, he showed a pronounced taste for trie study of the Fine Arts, and readily learned drawing. Under Marne, Mint-engraver at Cleves, he was trained as a Diesinker, for which particular branch he seemed to have special abilities. On his return to Holland, he settled at Rotterdam, where he married, and continued practising his art. His re...
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