François-Philippe Charpentier
Encyclopedia
François-Philippe Charpentier (b. Blois
, 1734; d. there 22 July 1817) was a French engraver and inventor.
His father was a bookbinder, a poor man who reportedly made many sacrifices so that his son might attend the Jesuit college at Blois; but after young Charpentier had studied there a few years he was compelled to leave and work to support himself. He chose to pursue the art of engraving, and entered the atelier of a copperplate engraver in Paris. He made a number of inventions related to this field, the first being a purely mechanical process for engraving in aquatint
(gravure au lavis) and in colour. After making many prints using the technique, he sold the secret. An engraver and patron of art, the Comte de Caylus, was one of the first to use the new machine.
Louis XVI gave him the appointment of "Royal Mechanician" (Mécanicien du Roi), and provided a studio for him in the gardens of the Louvre
, where he used a burning-mirror for melting metals without fire. He invented a fire-engine which was very widely adopted and, in 1771, a machine for drilling metals. Another invention for mechanical engraving was one which enabled lace-manufacturers to engrave in a few hours elaborate patterns and designs which formerly had required at least six months work of the burin. Charpentier's device for lighthouse-illumination so pleased Louis XVI that he offered the inventor a pension and a place as the head of the Department of Beacons, asking him to fix the price for his discovery. Charpentier reportedly refused the pension and suggested that the office be given to a younger man, saying that he would "prefer freedom in order to devote himself to the development of his ideas". He received a thousand crowns for his discovery.
During the period of the French Directory
he made an instrument for boring six gun-barrels at once, and a machine to saw six boards simultaneously. For these the government paid him 24,000 francs and named him director of the Atelier de prefectionnement, established at the Hôtel Montmorency. Charpentier received many offers from Russia and England for his labour-saving devices, but refused them all. He died as he had lived, in poverty. His chief extant works of his, all prints, are: Education of the Virgin, after François Boucher
; Death of Archimedes, after Ciro Ferri
; Shepherdess, after Nicolaes Berchem; Descent from the Cross, in colour, after Vanloo.
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
, 1734; d. there 22 July 1817) was a French engraver and inventor.
His father was a bookbinder, a poor man who reportedly made many sacrifices so that his son might attend the Jesuit college at Blois; but after young Charpentier had studied there a few years he was compelled to leave and work to support himself. He chose to pursue the art of engraving, and entered the atelier of a copperplate engraver in Paris. He made a number of inventions related to this field, the first being a purely mechanical process for engraving in aquatint
Aquatint
Aquatint is an intaglio printmaking technique, a variant of etching.Intaglio printmaking makes marks on the matrix that are capable of holding ink. The inked plate is passed through a printing press together with a sheet of paper, resulting in a transfer of the ink to the paper...
(gravure au lavis) and in colour. After making many prints using the technique, he sold the secret. An engraver and patron of art, the Comte de Caylus, was one of the first to use the new machine.
Louis XVI gave him the appointment of "Royal Mechanician" (Mécanicien du Roi), and provided a studio for him in the gardens of the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, where he used a burning-mirror for melting metals without fire. He invented a fire-engine which was very widely adopted and, in 1771, a machine for drilling metals. Another invention for mechanical engraving was one which enabled lace-manufacturers to engrave in a few hours elaborate patterns and designs which formerly had required at least six months work of the burin. Charpentier's device for lighthouse-illumination so pleased Louis XVI that he offered the inventor a pension and a place as the head of the Department of Beacons, asking him to fix the price for his discovery. Charpentier reportedly refused the pension and suggested that the office be given to a younger man, saying that he would "prefer freedom in order to devote himself to the development of his ideas". He received a thousand crowns for his discovery.
During the period of the French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
he made an instrument for boring six gun-barrels at once, and a machine to saw six boards simultaneously. For these the government paid him 24,000 francs and named him director of the Atelier de prefectionnement, established at the Hôtel Montmorency. Charpentier received many offers from Russia and England for his labour-saving devices, but refused them all. He died as he had lived, in poverty. His chief extant works of his, all prints, are: Education of the Virgin, after François Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
; Death of Archimedes, after Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri
Ciro Ferri was an Italian Baroque sculptor and painter, the chief pupil and successor of Pietro da Cortona.He was born in Rome, where he began working under Cortona and with a team of artists in the extensive fresco decorations of the Quirinal Palace...
; Shepherdess, after Nicolaes Berchem; Descent from the Cross, in colour, after Vanloo.