Antoine Benoist

Antoine Benoist (24 February 1632, Joigny – 8 April 1717) was a French painter and sculptor who served as personal painter to King Louis XIV. He was accepted as a member of the Académie Royale, Paris in 1681. Benoist's fame grew after he exhibited forty-three wax figurines of the French Royal Circle at his residence in Paris. Thereafter, the king authorized the figurines to be shown throughout France. His work became so highly regarded that James II of England invited him to visit England in 1684. There he executed works of the English king and members of his royal court. Today, Antoine Benoist's work can be viewed among the collections of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and the Château de Versailles.