Alexandre Charpentier
Encyclopedia
Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier (1856–1909) was a French sculptor, medalist, craftsman, and cabinet-maker.
From working-class origins and apprenticed to an engraver as a young man, he became a studio assistant to the innovative medallist Joseph-Hubert Ponscarme. Along with Ponscarme, Louis-Oscar Roty
, and other artists, Charpentier advanced a resurgence of art in French medal design.
Charpentier experimented with a wide variety of formats and materials—tin, marble, wood, leather, and terra cotta work, the latter executed by ceramic artisan Emile Müller. He opened several cabinet shops and designed many sets of furniture. Many of his custom designs for fixtures (doorknobs, door plates, window handles and the like) were subsequently mass-produced and commercially sold.
, with whom he collaborated on a monument of Emile Zola
, and he had a hand in the sculptural interiors at Le Chat Noir
cabaret. His work was also shown at the Les XX
exhibition in Brussels in 1893.
In 1895, he was a founding member of the arts group Les Cinq, which sought to apply new mechanical methods to furniture design. (The other founding members were architect Tony Selmersheim, designer Felix Aubert, sculptor Jean Dampt
and painter Étienne Moreau-Nélaton
.) Architect Charles Plumet would join in 1896, changing the group's name first to Les Six and then to L'Art pour tous with the later association of Henri Sauvage
and others.
From working-class origins and apprenticed to an engraver as a young man, he became a studio assistant to the innovative medallist Joseph-Hubert Ponscarme. Along with Ponscarme, Louis-Oscar Roty
Louis-Oscar Roty
Louis-Oscar Roty usually known as Oscar Roty was one of the most celebrated medallists of the Art Nouveau period.-Biography:...
, and other artists, Charpentier advanced a resurgence of art in French medal design.
Charpentier experimented with a wide variety of formats and materials—tin, marble, wood, leather, and terra cotta work, the latter executed by ceramic artisan Emile Müller. He opened several cabinet shops and designed many sets of furniture. Many of his custom designs for fixtures (doorknobs, door plates, window handles and the like) were subsequently mass-produced and commercially sold.
Social Circle
Carpentier's artistic and literary social circle was perhaps as significant as his output. Among his friends was Constantin MeunierConstantin Meunier
Constantin Meunier , Belgian painter and sculptor, was born in Etterbeek, Brussels.His first exhibit was a plaster sketch, "The Garland," shown at the Brussels Salon in 1851. Soon afterwards, on the advice of the painter Charles de Groux, he abandoned the chisel for the brush...
, with whom he collaborated on a monument of Emile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
, and he had a hand in the sculptural interiors at Le Chat Noir
Le Chat Noir
Le Chat Noir was a 19th-century cabaret, meaning entertainment house, in the bohemian Montmartre district of Paris...
cabaret. His work was also shown at the Les XX
Les XX
Les XX was a group of twenty Belgian painters, designers and sculptors, formed in 1883 by the Brussels lawyer, publisher, and entrepreneur Octave Maus. For ten years 'Les Vingt' , as they called themselves, held an annual exhibition of their art; each year twenty international artists were also...
exhibition in Brussels in 1893.
In 1895, he was a founding member of the arts group Les Cinq, which sought to apply new mechanical methods to furniture design. (The other founding members were architect Tony Selmersheim, designer Felix Aubert, sculptor Jean Dampt
Jean Dampt
Jean Baptiste Auguste Dampt was a French sculptor, medalist, and jeweler.Born in Venarey-les-Laumes as the son of a cabinetmaker, Dampt studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, then in 1874 under the leadership of François Jouffroy and Paul Dubois at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
and painter Étienne Moreau-Nélaton
Étienne Moreau-Nélaton
Adolphe Étienne Auguste Moreau-Nélaton was a French painter, art collector and art historian. His large collection is today held in its entirety by National French museums.-Family:...
.) Architect Charles Plumet would join in 1896, changing the group's name first to Les Six and then to L'Art pour tous with the later association of Henri Sauvage
Henri Sauvage
Henri Sauvage was a French architectural designer.Sauvage was born in Rouen, France. After studying at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in the atelier of Jean-Louis Pascal, he opened a wallpaper shop in Paris for which he got orders from Hector Guimard and Louis Majorelle, he then...
and others.