[2] In 1886, he became the first assistant director at Étienne Arago at the Musée du Luxembourg; an art museum primarily devoted to French painting.

He was appointed director in 1892 and set about defining a conservation policy that evolved little over time and which he outlined in the catalogs of the collection.

Thus, the acquisition policy focussed on the development of non-existent sections or works that predecessors have not managed to organize sustainably.

He did neglected neither sculpture nor lithography nor print-making and encouraged the collection of art objects, including medals.

Benjamin has argued that Bénédite was unusual in terms of combining art and history within a colonial frame of reference.

His subject matter was as varied as his acquisitions; he published on Burne-Jones, Bonvin, Braquemond, Carrière, Courbet, Chassériau, Falguière, Fantin-Latour, Legros, Liebermann, Rodin and Whistler.

He popularised analyses of nineteenth-century art in major syntheses supporting his studies on artist biographies.

Benedite, nevertheless, concentrated his interest on the requirements of this museum of a new type, founded at the initiative of an artist whose will he was obliged to respect.

[11] Bénédite was the first art historian to explicitly acknowledge the similarities between Manet's Olympia and Titian's Venus of Urbino.