After the early death of his father, Raoul Bénard studied under Jules-Clement Chaplain at the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1911 Bénard won the Prix de Rome followed by a silver medal at the Salon des Artistes Francais in 1922, and then his Olympic gold medal two years later. He a member of the Societé des Artistes Français and was made a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur. Bénard created numerous busts and medals, mostly for public clients. He also designed the Olympic medals for the 1924 Olympic Winter Games and the commemorative medals for the 1924 Paris Olympic Games and submitted these two works. The Olympic medal of Chamonix has a diameter of 55 mm, a thickness of 4 mm and a weight between 67 and 75 g. The Bronze Commemorative Medal for the 1924 Olympic Games is of the same size and weighs 72 g. It is unclear whether the Cadre médaille (Sports d’Hiver), Comité Olympique 1924, Chamonix (Mont Blanc) cited in the 1924 Official Report is a different design or whether it is a separate “case” for the medal.
France