From a young age, Benn began painting under the influence of the Bible, particularly the Book of Psalms. He took private drawing lessons in 1917 and then studied in a studio, before 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 at the Fernand Léger Academy. He married Ghéra, a dancer and musician, in 1938 and obtained French nationality. Mobilized in 1939 and then interned, Benn went underground, met many intellectuals and continued his creations inspired by biblical motifs.
After the Liberation, he settled permanently in Paris. In 1949, he founded a society of painters and sculptors with Marc Chagall, and in 1966, the association "Friends of the Work of the Painter Benn" was created. He died in 1989, leaving a substantial legacy to the City of Rueil-Malmaison and is buried in the Montparnasse Cemetery (2nd division).
Benn's painting style evolved throughout his career: initially influenced by Russian Constructivism, Kineticism and Cubism, he went through a geometric period inspired by Kandinsky before adopting a Symbolist style, then a poetic realism during the last twenty-five years of his life.
