Benjamin Zix - Draughtsman, painter, and engraver

Benjamin Zix was born on April 25, 1772, in Strasbourg . He began his training at a drawing school in the city before honing his skills under a Strasbourg painter.

Like many of his contemporaries, the young Benjamin joined the army as a volunteer in 1792. Due to poor health, he was eventually discharged in 1800. Meanwhile, in 1798, General Balthazar de Schauenbourg, commander of the French troops in Switzerland, took him on as a draughtsman. Zix produced numerous drawings depicting him in his various military activities.

In 1805, the Strasbourg municipality commissioned him to decorate the triumphal arch erected in the city for the Emperor's visit. His work was noticed by Dominique Vivant Denon, Director General of Museums, perhaps following a recommendation from Empress Josephine. Denon hired Zix as a draftsman and took him with him to Germany and Austria.

In early 1806, Zix executed five drawings commemorating Napoleon's return to Strasbourg after the victory at Austerlitz. These drawings were later engraved. Zix then settled in Paris with his wife, but he spent the following years traveling throughout Europe in Vivant-Denon's entourage, searching for works to populate the Louvre Museum. In October, while passing through Weimar, Zix drew a portrait of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

In 1807, he unsuccessfully entered the competition organized for the commemoration of the battle of Preußisch Eylau (the winner was Antoine-Jean Gros).

Zix then traveled through Spain and Austria. During this period, he designed several of the bas-reliefs that would later adorn the Vendôme Column.

In 1811, still accompanying Vivant-Denon, he traveled extensively through Italy. In Perugia, Benjamin Zix contracted a pernicious fever from which he died on December 7.