Félix Charpentier

Félix Charpentier (10 January 1858 in Bollène in Vaucluse – 1924) was a French sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics.[1]

Félix Charpentier

Biography

Félix Charpentier's father worked in a brick making factory and in 1871, Félix started work in the same factory. He was to show artistic talent when very young and at the age of 7 he was modelling small figures from wood and from the clay which he found at the brickworks where his father was working. At 16 years of age he went to Avignon and enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts there and became a pupil of the sculptor Armand. In 1877, he entered the École nationale des beaux-arts de Paris and worked in the studio of Pierre-Jules Cavelier and Amédée Doublemard. From 1878 onwards, Felix' reputation grew and in 1867 he won the silver medal at the Exposition Universelle and received several commissions. He exhibited each year at the Salon des Artistes Français. In 1882 the Salon awarded him a citation for the composition entitled "Le Repos du Moissonneur" and in 1884 he was awarded the 3rd Prize medal for the composition entitled "Le Jeune Faune" which was then purchased by the city of Paris.

In 1887 his submission of the work in plaster entitled the "L'Improvisateur" won him the 2nd Prize medal and a paid visit to Italy and in 1889 with a bronze version of the same piece he won a silver medal at the Paris World Fair. In 1890 he won the Salon's 1st Prize medal and the Exhibition Prize for the compositions of "La Chanson" in marble and "Lutteurs" in plaster. The marble version of "Les Lutteurs" was to subsequently bring him the Salon's highest award, the "Medal of Honour". It was purchased by the State and since 1905 has stood by the town hall of Bollène. On 5 May 1892, the day of the unveiling of the monument celebrating Avignon's absorption into France, he was decorated with the title of Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. In 1888 he had married his model, Léa Lucas and they had a daughter called Francine. In 1900 he was elected mayor of Chassant in Eure-et-Loir where he lived. During his life he received commissions for a number of public monuments and after the Great War he was chosen as the sculptor of various war memorials (monuments aux morts).[2]

Principal works
Name Location Date Notes
"Première sensation" Avignon
 1882 This work is held in the Musée Calvet d'Avignon.

[3] [4]

"The monument celebrating the centenary of Avignon's absorption into the French Empire-The "Monument du Centenaire" Avignon 1891 Below is an old post card showing the monument. Charpentier carried out the substantial sculptural work involved.

[5]

Avignon's Monument du Centenaire
"Vénus aux hirondelles" Avignon
 1893 This was one of Charpentier's earliest works and it stands in the "Jardin du rocher des Doms". The work in bronze was presented to the Paris Salon in 1894. A hirondelle is the bird the swallow.[3][4]
"Le Globe Endormi"
Charpentier was awarded the Gold Medal at the Exposition trienniele Internationale in Vienna for this composition.[3][4]
L'Art contemporain" Paris
 1900 This work is on the façade of the eastern side of the Grand Palais in the Avenue Winston-Churchill in Paris.

[4][6]

"La Tâche"
This work in plaster was submitted to the Paris Salon in 1908. A "Tâche" is a task.

[4]

Statue of Antoine Bigot Nîmes
 1903 Charpentier was the sculptor of the statue of Antoine Bigot, the writer, which stands in Nîmes' Jardin de la Fontaine. Bigot was born in Nîmes (1825–1897) and was a member of the Académie de Nîmes.

[7]

Gare de Lyon Paris
 Charpentier competed sculptural decoration for this Paris railway station.[4]
Madier de Montjau Bourg-Saint-Andéol
 1899 The inscription on the pedestal reads

"À MADIER DE MONTJAU / LA DEMOCRATIE / RECONNAISSANTE / 1814–1892"

It seems that between 1942 and 1944 the bronze was replaced by a version in stone.

Monument to Émile Jamais Aigues-Vives
 This monument is in the place Émile-Jamais.The original statue was taken by the Germans in 1942 and the bronze melted down for the manufacture of armaments. Charpentier's work was recreated by the sculptor Philippe Jamet Pournier and the replacement was inaugurated on 13 November 1993.

[8]

Bust of Frédéric Mistral
1911 Le Jardin des Félibres honours the Félibrige a movement founded in 1854 by Frédéric Mistral and six other poets from Provence to protect and promote the language of the Oc and at the garden's centre is the grave of Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian, considered as the precursor of this movement. There is a fountain in the garden and the busts of 10 poets surround it. These are Jean-Charles Brun, Sextius Michel, Joseph Loubet, Pierre Deluns Montaud, Clovis Hugues, Paul Mariéton, Téodor Aubanel, Frédéric Mistral, Paul Arène and Maurice Faure. The garden is located in the Avenue du Président Franklin D.Roosevelt by the church of Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Charpentier sculpted the bust of Mistral.

[9]

"La Source Humaine"
1908 Charpentier was commissioned to create a sculptural composition for a very large fountain called "La Source Humaine" to be installed in the Jardin du Luxembourg/Luxembourg Garden in Paris and this work was to occupy Charpentier on and off until his death. The work was to be in Carrara marble and the dimensions were so huge that Charpentier had to move to bigger premises to fulfill the commission.[10] The piece was finally installed in the Parc Pasteur in Orléans, Loiret, on loan from the Musée d'Orsay.[11]

[12]

Monument to Antoine Auguste Blachère Nimes 1902 This monument, comprising a pedestal with bas-relief surmounted by a bust of Blachère, is located in the Saint Baudile cemetery in Nimes in the Gard and involves sculptural work by Charpentier and Léopold Mérignargues. Carpentier sculpted the bust of Blachère which is in bronze and Mérignargues was responsible for the bas-relief on the side of the pedestal, also in bronze. Blachère served in the cavalry as a captain and had seen action in the Sahara and Sudan.

[13]

Monument to Alphonse Benoit Isle-sur-la-Sorgue At the top of the pedestal is a bronze of this industrialist and philanthropist and at the sides are elaborate sculptures by Charpentier.

[14]

Bust entitled "Mireille" Nogent-sur-Seine
1894 This work is located in the Musée Paul Dubois-Alfred Boucher. Mireille was a heroine in the writings of Frédéric Mistral. It was in 1894 that Charpentier executed the piece in Terra cotta and a version in marble was it seems available in 1909 when it was offered for sale.

[15]

Bust of Sain Avignon Paul Saïn was a painter born in Avignon in 1853. He died in 1908. Charpentier created a bronze medallion with Sain's portrait for his tomb in Saint-Véran cemetery in Avignon. Charpentier also sculpted a bust of Sain which is in Avignon's Jardin des Doms.

[16]

The monument to the Girondins Bordeaux
 The monument honouring the Girondins stands in the massive Place des Quinconces in Bordeaux, one of the largest squares in Europe. See note regarding this monument.[Note 1]
Camille Gaté (in French) Nogent-le-Rotrou
 This bust is located in the Nogent-le-Rotrou museum, department of Eure-et-Loir. Gaté was an accomplished artist and sculptor, famous in particular for his bronze dogs. He was born in Nogent-le-Rotrou on 14 April 1856 and died there in August 1900.
Bello Matinado Châteaudun
 Approx.1909. There is a plaster model of this work in the Musée municipal de Châteaudun, department of Eure-et-Loir, and a marble version is in the Muséew des Beaux-arts, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Versions of the work can be found elsewhere in France.

[17] [18]

"Les Lutteurs" Bollène
 1893 A lutteur is a wrestler and Greco-Roman wrestling was very popular in 19th century Provence. Charpentier worked on this composition in 1893 in memory of his father. The work received the "Médaille d'Or" at the Paris Exhibition of 1900. It was shown at the Louvre then given by the State to the town of Bollène on 14 February 1905. It was inaugurated on 17 December of that year by Président Emile Loubet and stands in front of the mairie.

[19]

Monument to the painter Paul Vayson Avignon 1913 On 18 September 1913, a monument was erected in Vayson's honour. It stands in the "Rocher des Dames" park in Avignon.

In this composition Charpentier shows Vayson with some sheep. [20]

"La Chanson"
1889 There are copies of this work in the town halls of Melle and Bollène.

[21]

Statue of Jean-Baptiste Godin Guise
The original statue honoring Jean-Baptiste Godin had been inaugurated in 1889 and involved work by sculptors Tony Noël and Amédée Doublemard. However, during the 1914–1918 war the German Army demolished the statue to melt down its bronze content to manufacture armaments. Felix Charpentier sculpted the replacement statue of Godin and it was inaugurated on 17 September 1922.

[22][23]

"L'improvisateur"
A copy of this composition in bronze is located in the mairie of Bandol. There are other versions in various locations, these in different sizes and with or without the flute. Another copy is in the mairie of Bollène. Charpentier is thought to have executed this work in 1887 and a version in plaster was exhibited at the Salon in Paris in 1887 and won the "Medaille de Seconde Classe". In 1890 it was placed in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Havre but was most certainly subsequently destroyed in 1945. The bronze version cast by the foundry "Siot and Perzinka" was created in 1888. It was exhibited at the Paris International Exhibition in 1889. See photograph in gallery below.

[24] [25] [26]

"Femme Accroupi" Vanves
 1930 This work in limestone is located in the parc Frédéric Pic in Vanves in Hauts-de-Seine. It is one of a group of four sculptures. Charpentier's work depicts a woman in a crouching position ("accroupi").

[27]

"Jeanne d'Arc à l'étendard"
1888 This statue stands in the porch of the Basilique Sainte Jeanne d'Arc in the Rue de la Chapelle. See image in gallery below. Joan, in patriotic mode, carries the flag of France.

[28]

"L'illusion" Barbezieux-Saint-Hilaire The work entitled "L'illusion" is thought to date to 1895. It is in marble and is located in the mairie.

[29]

"Vieux Berger" Le Puy-en-Velay
 1900 The composition "Vieux Berger" is a bronze thought to have been executed around 1900. It is held in the Musée Crozatier.

[30]

"Volupté" Decize
 1901 The work is sculpted from marble and is located in the mairie.

[31]

"Le dernier chant d'une cigale"
1904 This work in marble was submitted to the 1904 exhibition of the Société des Artistes français. See photograph in gallery below. A cigale is a cicada or cricket which is an insect which is abundant in Provence.

[32] Copies of this work can be seen in Buenos Aires and Châlons-en-Champagne [33]

"Femme à l'éponge" Maubeuge 1910 This work depicts a woman washing herself.

[34]

Jean Henri Fabre (1823–1915) Paris
 This is a bronze depicting Jean Henri Fabre, the famous French entomologist. It was cast by the foundry SIDI and is held in the Musée d'Orsay.

Thought to have been executed between 1914 and 1919. It was shown at the Paris Salon in 1914 and held in the École Normale d'Avignon. A statuette was placed in the Musée du Luxembourg in 1922. [35]

"Le Jeune Faune" Paris
 This piece is thought to have been executed between 1914 and 1919. The marble version is located in the parc Monceau in Paris.

[36]

"Head of woman in profile" Le Mans
 1924 This work is a terracotta bas-relief depicting the profile of a woman's head. It is held in the Musée de Tessé in Le Mans.

[37]

Fernand Widal Paris
 Charpentier's bust of Fernand Widal is located in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris.

[38]

War Memorials

After the end of the 1914–1918 war there was a huge demand for sculptors to work on war memorials (monument aux morts) There was a tendency for commissions for war memorial sculpture to be given to sculptors who had been born in the location involved or at least lived there. For this reason Charpentier was the preferred sculptor for the war memorials of Bollène, Roquemaure, Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes and Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, all in the region of his birth, whilst his adopted region commissioned him to carry out the sculptural work on the war memorials of Béville-le-Comte, Bonneval, Brou, Chassant, Combres, Dangeau, Frétigny, Fruncé and Unverre. He was also asked to work on the war memorials of Misy-sur-Yonne and Genas. He also worked on a number of busts of prominent people and various medallions.[4] Notes on some of the war memorials involving work by Charpentier are shown below,

Name Location Date Notes
War Memorial at Bollène Vaucluse
 1920 Although Charpentier's sculpture was completed in 1920, the memorial was not inaugurated until 1930, the delay being caused by a legal dispute concerning the siting of the memorial. 221 men of Bollène lost their lives in the two world wars. In Charpentier's limestone sculpture an angel holds a crown of laurel over the head of a soldier.[39][40]
War Memorial at Roquemaure Gard
 Charpentier again used the composition which stands on the top of the monument in Avignon celebrating Avignon's joining of the French Empire.[41]
War Memorial at Bonneval Eure-et-Loir
 Charpentier was responsible for the sculpture on the Bonneval War Memorial.[42]
War Memorial at Brou Eure-et-Loir
 Charpentier sculpted the figure of the soldier on this war memorial. 137 men of Brou were killed in the 1914–1918 war: 10% of the male population.[43]
War Memorial at Chassant Eure-et-Loir
 1921 The marble version of this work was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1905. Charpentier gave the plaster model to the church as a gift in 1921 following Joan's canonization in that year. Charpentier also gave the Chassant mairie a plaster version of his "Marianne". The bust executed in 1892 is the model used for the "Marianne" which sits at the top of Avignon's monument celebrating the reunion of Comtat Venaissin with France.[44]
War Memorial at Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes Vaucluse 1920 Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes is quite near to Bollène and Charpentier's statue of a standing soldier dates to 1920. This model was also used for the war memorial in Genas in the Rhône, both being carved from limestone. There is a small bas-relief on the side of the pedestal carved by a little known sculptor called Mourbié.[45][46]
War Memorial at Combres Eure et Loir
 1923 Composition in limestone depicts a woman representing France and holding the National flag. Charpentier also used this figure for the war memorial at Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux in Drôme.[47][48]
War Memorial at Béville-le-Comte Eure et Loir
 1923 Charpentier carves the figure of a soldier from limestone.[49]
War Memorial at Fruncé Eure et Loir
 1923 Charpentier carves another soldier from limestone. The memorial's inauguration took place on 13 May 1923.[50]
War Memorial at Unverre Eure et Loir

Reproductions in bronze

A good number of Charpentier's works have been reproduced in limited editions, these in varying sizes. Many are in bronze and others in "Biscuit de Sèvres"[4]

  • Part of the sculptural work on the fountains of the Gironde monument.
  • Part of the Monument to the Girondin by Félix Charpentier.
  • Félix Charpentier's "L'improvisateur"
  • "La Tache" by Félix Charpentier.
  • Statue in Paris park (Parc Monceau) "Le Jeune Faune" by Félix Charpentier
  • Monument to Paul Veyson by Félix Charpentier
  • Antony Valabrègue medallion by Félix Charpentier in the Cimetière du Montparnasse.
  • Bust of Paul Saïn in Avignon's Jardin des Doms
  • "L'adieux d'une hirondelle"- Farewell from a swallow by Félix Charpentier
  • Jean-Baptiste Godin, Statue at Guise.
  • Bust of Mistral in Sceaux by Félix Charpentier
  • Les Lutteurs. Statue in Bollène by Félix Charpentier
  • "Le dernier chant d'une cigale". The last song of a cricket by Félix Charpentier
  • Joan of Arc statue in front of Basilique Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc in Paris.
  • Bust of Camille Gaté by Félix Charpentier. Camille Gaté was an artist and sculptor. Held in Nogent-le-Rotrou's museum.

Notes
  1. It is here that the two Chateaux Trompette had stood. The first castle was constructed after the Battle of Castillon fought in 1453 which had marked the end of three centuries of English domination and the second was constructed during the minority of Louis XIV after a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653 known as the Fronde. This second castle was demolished in 1816 and the current square constructed. The Place des Quinconces derived its name from the original geometric formation of the trees planted there. The monument itself is of huge dimensions and at its centre is a tall Corinthian column on top of which a bronze statue of Liberty holds a broken chain in one hand and a laurel branch in the other. The chain symbolizes oppression, now overcome, and the laurel, which the figure is offering to the people of Bordeaux, symbolizes victory. Around the base of the column are several sculptural groupings. In one grouping three female figures represent Bordeaux and the rivers Garonne and the Dordogne region and in another a gallic rooster is joined by figures representing rhetoric and history. The Monument aux Girondin was built between 1894 and 1902 in honour of the Girondin deputies, victims of the reign of terror of the French Revolution, and in honour of the Third Republic. The idea of the monument came from the Bordeaux sculptor Achille Dumilatre and when work started he enlisted help from fellow sculptors Felix Charpentier and Gustave Debrie. It was Debrie who created the horses involved in one of the sculptural groupings. One of these groupings, that at the base of the column facing the river Garonne, features a French Cockerel representing the French Republic, and she is joined by female figures representing "Rhetoric" and "History". The planned groups of statues of the Girondins, who played such an important role in laying down the foundations of French liberty are in fact absent from the monument dedicated to their courage and empty pedestals on the north and south facing sides above the two fountains are where these statues would have been placed. Dumilatre had planned there to be statues of the Girondins Vergniaud, Buzot, Barbaroux, Brissot de Warville and Pétion occupying the side of the monument facing the Grand Theatre, whereas Guadet, Gensonné, Grangeneuve and Boyer-Fonfrède were to be represented on the opposite side facing towards the Chartrons district. However Dumilatre never finished the statues and the early models were badly damaged when the sculptor's workshop collapsed during a storm. On the west side of the plinth facing the arc of the road, three stone statues of women represent Bordeaux in the centre and the rivers Garonne and Dordogne (which converge downstream to form the Gironde estuary) are represented by two laughing water nymphs. The theme of the basin facing towards the Grand Theatre is that of "the Triumph of the Republic" with bronze statues representing work (a blacksmith), security and power (the lion). To the left and right of the representation of the Republic who is seated on her throne, is a group of three children symbolising the fundamental laws of obligatory education (on her left) and military service (on her right) voted at the time of the first republic. The two seahorses and two reptile-horses are preceded by three figures symbolising the Republic's triumph over ignorance, vice and lies. The grouping in the basin facing the Chartrons represents "the Triumph of Concord" who, carrying an olive branch of peace, protects Fraternity (a worker and a towns person) and Abundance from which is born prosperity. Industry and Trade are symbolized by the three children to her right, and Art and Science are represented by the three children on her left. During the Second World War many of the bronze statues in Bordeaux were melted down to assist the German war effort and in 1943 the bronzes of the Girondins monument were dismantled ready for smelting. Happily the thirty-four bronzes escaped the foundry and were found in October 1944 in Angers and returned to Bordeaux in July 1945, but only in 1983 were the horses returned to the fountain's basins. In 2005/6 the monument underwent a major face-lift.

References
  1. "Félix Charpentier". Olympedia. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. "Biographical details". Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  3. http://www.nella-buscot.com/sculpteurs.php?idsculpteur=scu0052. Retrieved 30 November 2013
  4. http://www.felix-charpentier.net/accueil.html Archived 12 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Well indexed website said to have been put together by descendants of Chapentier
  5. "Monument du Centenaire". Archived from the original on 11 January 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  6. "L'Art contemporain". Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  7. Statue of Antoine Bigot. Retrieved 30 November 2013
  8. Base Palissy: Emile Jamais, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  9. "Bust of Mistral". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  10. Notes on "La Source Humaine" Archived 6 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 November 2013
  11. Petit-patrimoine entry with several photographs of fountain and Charpentier's "La Source Humaine". Retrieved 27 November 2013
  12. "La Source Humaine". Retrieved 29 November 2013
  13. Base Palissy: Antoine Auguste Blachère, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  14. "Monument to Alphonse Benoit". Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  15. Base Joconde: Mireille, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  16. "Biography of Charpentier". Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  17. "Bello Matinado". Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  18. "Bello Matinado". Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  19. "Les Lutteurs". Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  20. Paul Vayson Retrieved 30 November 2013
  21. "La Chanson" Archived 3 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 29 November 2013
  22. Base Palissy: Jean-Baptiste Godin, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  23. Base Mérimée: Monument à Jean-Baptiste André Godin, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  24. Base Joconde: Improvisateur, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  25. "L'Improvisateur". Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  26. "Musée d'Orsay". Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  27. Base Palissy: Femme accroupi, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  28. Jeanne d'Arc à l'étendard. Retrieved 30 November 2013
  29. "L'Illusion". Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  30. Base Joconde: Vieux Berger, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  31. "Volupté". Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  32. "Le dernier chant d'une cigale". Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  33. "Le dernier chant d'une cigale". Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  34. "Femme à l'éponge". Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  35. Base Joconde: Jean Henri Fabre, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  36. "Le Jeune Faune". Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  37. Base Joconde: Tête de femme de profil, French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
  38. "Bust of Fernand Widal". Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  39. "Bollène War Memorial". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  40. "website with old photograph of memorial". Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  41. "Roquemaure War Memorial". Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  42. "Bonneval War Memorial". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  43. "Brou War Memorial". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  44. "Chassant War Memorial". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  45. "War Memorial at Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  46. "Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes". Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  47. "Combres War Memorial". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  48. "Combres War Memorial". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  49. "Béville-le-Comte". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  50. "Frunce War Memorial". Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  • Félix Charpentier in American public collections, on the French Sculpture Census website
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.