Jean-Jacques Henner was a French painter, noted for his use of sfumato in painting religious subjects and nudes. He was born into a peasant family in the Sundgau and received his first artistic training at Altkirch , and later in Strasbourg.

In 1846 he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris as a pupil of Michel-Martin Drolling and, from 1851, François-Edouard Picot. While a student he was particularly drawn to portraiture, and during his frequent visits to Alsace he made portraits of his family as well as of the notables of the region. At the same time, he painted scenes of Alsatian peasant life.

Henner exhibited his art and took a Grand Prix for painting at the Paris International Exhibition of 1900. He was made Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1873, Officer in 1878, and Commander in 1889. In 1889 he succeeded Alexandre Cabanel in the Institut de France. He continued to teach and paint until he died in 1905. One of his better known students was Louise Abbema.