Son of a professor, Benque was born in Ludwigslust, nowadays, a city located in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, (northern Germany).

Hersen before moving to the then Austrian city of Trieste in 1864, where he opened a studio in partnership with the Italian watchmaker Guglielmo Sebastianutti (1825–1881), marrying Sebastianutti' stepdaughter, Isabella, in 1868.

Despite being recognized by the local press and specialized organizations, receiving – among other things – a silver medal in the World Fair of Paris in 1867,[1] Benque returned to (Germany) in 1869 and opened a studio with his cousin Conrad Kindermann in Hamburg.

With Alberto Henschel (1827–1882), a German from Berlin that migrated to Brazil in 1866, owner of the company Photographia Allemã (German Photography) with studios in Bahia and Pernambuco, Benque established the partnership Henschel & Benque Photographia Allemã that would become one of the most renowned Brazilian photography houses in that time.

[1] In 1878 Benque returned to Trieste, Italy and continued to work with Mr. Sebastianutti.