Brief Biography-Benjamin Block was born in Lübeck to a family of artists, his father Daniel was a painter who was in the service of the Prince of Mecklenburg for forty four years. His brothers were also painters.
Benjamin's first noted work was a fine drawing of the Duke of Mecklenburg, and his subsequent paintings gained him a standing reputation throughout Germany.
He travelled to Hungary where he painted Count Ferenc Nádasdy and his wife Princess Anna Julianna Eszterházy. The bulk of his work in Hungary was for altarpieces in churches and convents.
He spent a considerable amount of time in Italy studying and perfecting his technique before returning to Germany. He stayed in Nuremberg where he was commissioned to do portraits of the prime nobility of the region. The Elector of the Court of Saxony engaged him to paint portraits of himself and his family.
His most prominent painting was of Athanasius Kircher the Jesuit. His wife Anna Catharina Fischer was an artist who excelled in painting flowers.