Benoît Audran the Elder
Illustration — Portrait by the workshop of Joseph Vivien Benoît Audran the Elder (23 November 1661 – 3 September 1721) was a French engraver. The second son of Germain Audran, he was born in Lyons. Although he never equalled the admirable style of his uncle, he engraved many plates of historical subjects and portraits, which have justly established his reputation.
Also recorded as Benoit Audran I · Benoit Audran, the Elder · Benoit Audran · Benoist Audran
Benoît Audran the Elder
Patrick from Compiègne, France · This image has been extracted from another file · CC BY-SA 2.0
- Born
- 1661 · Lyon.
- Died
- 1721 · Ouzouer-sur-Loire.
- Nationality
- France
- Occupation
- printmaker · painter · artist · engraver
- Fields
- visual arts
- Languages
- French
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Illustration — Portrait by the workshop of Joseph Vivien Benoît Audran the Elder (23 November 1661 – 3 September 1721) was a French engraver. The second son of Germain Audran, he was born in Lyons. Although he never equalled the admirable style of his uncle, he engraved many plates of historical subjects and portraits, which have justly established his reputation.
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wikidata · Q818100 · wikipedia · Benoît Audran the Elder
In this article
Portraits
Portraits
His style, like that of Gérard, is bold and clear; his drawing of the figure is very correct; and there is a fine expression of character in his heads. He was received into the Academy in 1709, and was appointed engraver to the king, with a pension. He died in 1721, in the village of Ouzouer, near Sens. His portrait, after J. Vivien, has been engraved by his nephew Benoit, the younger. The following are his principal plates:
The recorded working language is French. The field of work recorded is visual arts. Places of work recorded in the authority are Paris. Work by Benoît Audran the Elder is recorded in the collections of Finnish National Gallery, Prints and Photographs Department of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Yale Center for British Art and Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes.
• Illustration — Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) by Benoît Audran the Elder, Palace of Versailles Research Centre, 1676 • Charles le Goux de la Berchere, Archbishop of Narbonne; after L. de Boulogne. • Jean Baptiste Colbert; after C. Lefebvre; oval. • Joseph Clement of Bavaria, Elector - Archbishop of Cologne; after J. Vivien. • Henri de Beringhen; after Nanteuil. 1710. • Samuel Frisching, General of the Swiss: after J. Huber. 1713. • J. F. A. Willading; after J. Huber. 1718. • Equestrian Statue of Louis XIV; after Desjardins; by B. and J. Audran.
Subjects after various masters
Subjects after various masters
• The Baptism of Jesus Christ; after Albani. • David with the Head of Goliath; after a picture in the Louvre, formerly attributed to Michelangelo, but now ascribed to Daniele da Volterra; two plates, engraved in 1716 and 1717. • Moses defending the Daughters of Jethro; after Le Brun. • The Espousals of Moses and Zipporah; after the same. • The Elevation of the Cross; after the same. 1706. • The Descent from the Cross; after the same. • An allegorical subject — Holland accepting Peace; after the same. • Zephyrus and Flora; after Ant. Coypel. • The Pleasures of the Garden; two friezes; after Mignard; engraved by Benoit and Jean Audran. • The Saviour with Martha and Mary; after Le Sueur. • St. Paul preaching at Ephesus; after the same. • Alexander drinking the Cup which his Physician presents him; after the same. • The Accouchement of Marie de Medicis; after Rubens. • The Exchange of the Two Queens; after the same. [The two last form part of the Luxembourg Gallery.] Several other prints by this artist are specified in the ' Dictionnaire des Artistes,' by Heineken, and in Meyer's ' Allgemeines Künstler-Lexikon' upwards of two hundred are enumerated.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Lyon.
Birth place
Ouzouer-sur-Loire.
Death place
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Prints
4,138 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Benjamin Waterhouse HawkinsEngraver
- Benjamin WilsonEngraver
- Benni EfratEngraver
- Benny AndrewsEngraver
- Benoît Audran the YoungerEngraver
- Benoît FarjatEngraver
- Benoît-Louis PrévostEngraver
- Benton Murdoch SpruanceEngraver
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