Jacques Benard, improperly said Robert Bénard was a French engraver born in Rosny-sous-Bois in 1731 and died in Paris in 1794. He signed 60% of the Encyclopedia engravings and took part in other monumental editions, like Cook’s voyages or the Methodical Encyclopedia, for which he directed a team of 60 people. Thanks to research in the National Archives, in the parish records of the Seine Saint-Denis archives, as well as in the manuscript records of the longitude office, more facts about his life are known.
More information can be found on the engraver Jacques Renaud Benard (1731-1794): a major contributor to the Encyclopédie finally identified. Francoise Launay In Research on Diderot and on the Encyclopédie 2019/1 (n° 54) , pages 255 to 273.
