Benoît Le Coffre (1671 – 1722) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

painter of French descent. He became King Frederick IV's

Court Painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...

in 1700 and is considered the earliest representative of light

Rococo painting Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

in Denmark.

Biography

Benoît Le Coffre was born in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

in 1671 to Claude Le Coffre who was also a painter as well as a sculptor with important commissions for the Court. Benoît was sent to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

where he studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

. He won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

in 1692 but seems not to have continued his studies in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Little is known about his early career and whereabouts but back in Denmark in 1700 he became Frederick IV's Court Painter alongside

Hendrick Krock Hendrick Krock (21 July 1671 – 18 November 1738) was a Danish history painter who, from 1706, was the court painter of Frederick IV as well as his successor Christian VI. Along with Benoit Le Coffre set the tone for history painting in Denmark ...

, the king's other Court Painter.

Works

His work includes portraits as well as many decorative works for the many royal residences. At

Frederiksberg Palace Frederiksberg Palace ( da, Frederiksberg Slot) is a Baroque residence, located in Frederiksberg, Denmark, adjacent to the Copenhagen Zoo. It commands an impressive view over Frederiksberg Gardens, originally designed as a palace garden in the ...

, which was built just after the turn of the century, he painted 12 frescos featuring both scenes from antique mythology and swarming royal

masquerade ball A masquerade ball (or ''bal masqué'') is an event in which many participants attend in costume wearing a mask. (Compare the word "masque"—a formal written and sung court pageant.) Less formal "costume parties" may be a descendant of this tra ...

s with musicians and masked participants. Other buildings with decorative works by him include

Rosenborg Castle Rosenborg Castle ( da, Rosenborg Slot) is a renaissance architecture, renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was originally built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IV of Denmark, Christian IV's ...

, the Eremitage Lodge and the Chancellery building in Copenhagen.

Gallery

Image:Frederik IV by Benoit Le Coffre.jpg, Frederick IV Image:Sophie Hedevig - Benoit le Coffre.jpg, Princess Sophia Hedwig

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Coffre, Benoit Danish painters Danish Baroque painters Danish male painters Danish people of French descent Painters from Copenhagen 1671 births 1722 deaths Court painters

Biography

Works

Gallery

See also

References