Franz Benque

Franz Benque (12 March 1841 – 30 March 1921), known in Brazil as Francisco Benque, was a German photographer.

Franz Benque
Born	12 March 1841 Ludwigslust, Germany
Died	30 March 1921 Trieste, Italy
Nationality	German
Known for	Photography
Spouse	Isabella Sebastianutti

StudioSebastianutti & Benque.

Biography

Son of a professor, Benque was born in Ludwigslust, nowadays, a city located in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, (northern Germany). He received lessons of photography from C.C. Hersen before moving to the then Austrian city of Trieste in 1864, where he opened a studio in partnership with the Italian watchmaker Guglielmo Sebastianutti (1825–1881), marrying Sebastianutti' stepdaughter, Isabella, in 1868.

Despite being recognized by the local press and specialized organizations, receiving – among other things – a silver medal in the World Fair of Paris in 1867,^[1] Benque returned to (Germany) in 1869 and opened a studio with his cousin Conrad Kindermann in Hamburg.

One year later, in 1870, immigrated with his family to Brazil. With Alberto Henschel (1827–1882), a German from Berlin that migrated to Brazil in 1866, owner of the company Photographia Allemã (German Photography) with studios in Bahia and Pernambuco, Benque established the partnership Henschel & Benque Photographia Allemã that would become one of the most renowned Brazilian photography houses in that time.^[1]

In 1878 Benque returned to Trieste, Italy and continued to work with Mr. Sebastianutti. In 1903, he moved to the Austrian city of Villach, where he later died, in 1921.^[2]

References

1. Schaukal, Barbara. Sebastianutti & Benque – Five Photographers. Four Generations. Three Continents Archived 4 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 April 2008
2. "Vorwort – Universalmuseum Joanneum Graz, Referat Restaurierung". Das Eggenberger Flügelretabel: 13–16. 15 April 2019. doi:10.7767/9783205231622.13. ISBN 978-3-205-23160-8. S2CID 241422327.

Bibliography

• Schiffer-Ekhart, Armgard: Sebastianutti & Benque. Fünf Fotografen. Vier Generationen. Drei Kontinente. [text of Barbara Schaukal]. catalog of the exposition, Graz, museum Steiermärkisches Landesmuseum Joanneum, 16.10.-13.11.1997.
• Karp Vasquez, Pedro: Fotografós Alemães no Brasil do Século XIX, Deutsche Fotografen des 19. Jahrhunderts in Brasilien, ed. Metalivros, published in 2000.
• Schwede, Sandra: Mit Licht und Tücke, Die Frühzeit der Photographie im Großherzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1839–1880), ed. Tectum Verlag, Marburg 2006, also: Universidade de Greifswald diss. 2006.