Jacques Chesnais was a French puppeteer, painter and illustrator. He studied at the ENSBA; then, in 1933, he and his wife founded their first puppet company, called La Branche de Houx. He taught puppetry and toured abroad. But his workshop was looted during the war. He then created Les Comédiens de Bois. He was a member of the presidential council of the UNIMA and published his Histoire Générale des Marionnettes in 1947.