Alexandre Charpentier

ALEXANDRE CHARPENTIER (Paris, 1856-Neuilly-sur-Seine, 1909).
"Young musician".
Relief in bronze. Wooden frame.
Measurements: 24 x 38,5 cm; 34 x 47,5 cm (frame).

Charpentier was a skilled craftsman considered one of the great creators of bas-reliefs at the end of the century. In this piece he offers us the figure of a young Apollonian playing a flute immersed in a wooded landscape. It is a typical Art Nouveau image of graceful and stylized forms.

Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier was a successful sculptor, medalist, craftsman and cabinetmaker. Tempted by sculpture, the young man was forced to learn medal engraving at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He later became workshop assistant to the innovative medalist Hubert Ponscarme, developing an excellent bas-relief technique that led him to consider himself a "bas-reliever". Along with Ponscarme, Louis-Oscar Roty, and other artists, Charpentier fostered a resurgence of artistry in French medal design. Charpentier opened several cabinetmakers and designed numerous pieces of furniture. Today his work is preserved in the Musée d'Orsay.