Benn

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Biography

Benn, pseudonym of Bencjon Rabinowicz, born on April 19, 1905 in Białystok and died in 1989, is a French painter of Russian origin, attached to the School of Paris. Inspired by the Bible, in particular the Book of Psalms, he began to paint at a young age. After private drawing lessons in 1917 and studies in a painting workshop, he began creating sets for the theater in 1926.
Admitted to the Union of Professional Artists in 1929, he exhibited his works in several cities, including Białystok and Warsaw. Thanks to a scholarship, he went to study in Paris, where he attended the academy of Fernand Léger. He married Ghéra, a dancer and musician, in 1938 and obtained French nationality. After being mobilized in 1939 and a period of internment, Benn went underground, where he met many intellectuals and continued to create works inspired by biblical motifs.
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After the Liberation, Benn settled permanently in Paris. In 1949, he founded a society of painters and sculptors with Marc Chagall and, in 1966, the association "Les amis de l'œuvre du peintre Benn" was created. He died in 1989, leaving a significant legacy to the City of Rueil-Malmaison and is buried in the Montparnasse cemetery (2nd division).
Benn's pictorial style evolved throughout his career. Initially influenced by Russian constructivism, kineticism and cubism, he went through a geometric period inspired by Kandinsky. His artistic production then evolved towards a symbolist style, then poetic realist during the last twenty-five years of his life.