Emmanuel Bénézit (art historian)

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Emmanuel Bénézit (* 1854 in Jersey , † 1920 in Paris ) was a French art dealer and lexicographer.

Dictionnaire Bénézit

Emmanuel Bénézit was born as the son of the musician and music writer Charles Bénézit during his exile in Jersey. He worked as an art dealer.

Apparently inspired by the German artist lexicon Thieme-Becker , he founded the French artist lexicon Dictionnaire des peintres, sculpteurs, dessinateurs et graveurs , the first edition of which comprised three volumes. The first volume appeared in 1911. The encyclopedia deals with painters , sculptors , draftsmen and engravers from all countries and ages. The Swiss painter Edmond-Henri Zeiger-Viallet (1895–1994) was one of Bénézit's employees . Two volumes were published during Bénézit's lifetime. After his death in 1920, Marcelle Bénézit and Zeiger-Viallet completed the third volume (1923). Under the name Bénézit , the work became the standard work, especially in French-speaking countries. It received three further French-language editions, each of which became more extensive.

Bénézit edition 1999

The Dictionnaire Bénézit has been reissued and expanded several times:

  • First edition (1911–1923), three volumes
  • Second edition (1948–1955), eight volumes
  • Third edition (1976), ten volumes
  • Fourth edition (1999), fourteen volumes
  • Fifth edition (2006), fourteen volumes, for the first time in English with over 170,000 entries on around 20,000 pages.

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personal data
SURNAME Bénézit, Emmanuel
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bénézit, Charles Emmanuel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French art dealer and art historical lexicographer
DATE OF BIRTH 1854
PLACE OF BIRTH jersey
DATE OF DEATH 1920
Place of death Paris