Release Date: July 21, 2006
First Exhibition Dedicated to Charpentier Since
Artist's Death in 1909
at National Gallery of Art, Washington
August 6, 2006-January 28, 2007
Alexandre Charpentier and Tony Selmersheim
The Flight of Time, c. 1899
gilt bronze and padouk wood
Private Collection
Washington, DC— A medalist, sculptor, and designer, Alexandre Charpentier was a pivotal figure in the movement to unite the fine and decorative arts in France at the end of the 19th century. Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier (1856–1909) marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the artist and will be on view on the ground floor of the West Building of the National Gallery of Art from August 6, 2006 through January 28, 2007.
This exhibition draws from the largest private collection of works by Charpentier and from the National Gallery’s permanent collection. A versatile and largely self-taught artist, Charpentier enjoyed great success at the end of the 19th century, however, his work has only recently been rediscovered by museums and collectors.
"His recognition is long overdue" said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "The Gallery is grateful to the lenders who have made this exhibition possible." The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
The Exhibition
Born in 1856 in the Marais, then a working-class neighborhood of Paris, Charpentier was apprenticed at the age of twelve to a decorative engraver. In the 1870s he trained at the École des Beaux-Arts under the renowned medalist Hubert Ponscarme. Charpentier worked almost exclusively in low relief. He experimented with novel formats, styles, and subjects, an unprecedented range of materials, and brought great innovation to this art form. He first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1879 and regularly showed his work at such well-established venues, but he also participated in avant-garde artists’ circles in Brussels, Vienna, and Paris. By the end of his life he was celebrated by his contemporaries as a key figure in the Art Nouveau movement in France.
Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier (1856–1909) brings together 59 objects to present a survey of the artist’s prolific career, highlighting his experiments in a range of mediums—from those traditionally used by sculptors, such as bronze, silver, terracotta, and plaster, to more unusual alloys, pressed paper, and pâte de verre (a hard paste made by molding and fusing glass). The exhibition is arranged according to four principal themes: maternity and children, labor, portraiture, and decorative arts.
Maternity and Children
In his numerous sculptures of domestic scenes and portraits Charpentier often used his own family as the models. Such is the case in the plaquette Jean and Pierre (1892) that depicts the artist’s son and nephew, shown in the exhibition as the decorative cover of a wooden pencil box. The famous work Maternity (modeled 1882) is an iconic image of a young mother nursing her child and a highlight of this section.
Labor
Charpentier took a broad approach to the theme of labor, a popular subject in 19th-century art. His subjects range from manual laborers, such as three iron riveters who appear on a small silver medal Eiffel Tower (1889) issued as a popular souvenir for visitors and tourists ascending the tower, to engineers and doctors in the works Dr. Paul Segond in the Delivery Room and Dr. Charles Monod Performing Surgery, created in 1905 and 1906 respectively.
Portraiture
A masterful portraitist, Charpentier depicted many luminaries of vibrant fin-de-siècle Paris. Foremost among his sitters was his friend the novelist, critic, and polemical journalist Emile Zola, whose portrait is shown in several mediums including pâte de verre. Other leading personalities portrayed by Charpentier in low relief include Paul Margueritte and Camille Pissarro.
Decorative Arts
In the 1890s Charpentier became a founding member of "L’Art dans tout" (Art in Everything), an artists’ group of interior designers, furniture makers, painters, and architects. The Flight of Time (1899), a rare, ornate, art nouveau clock that Charpentier created in collaboration with the French furniture maker Tony Selmersheim, is an exceptional example of Charpentier’s efforts to unite sculpture and the decorative arts.
Exhibition Curator and Related Activities
The curator of Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier (1856–1909) is Karen Lemmey, an Andrew W. Mellon curatorial fellow, working in the department of sculpture and decorative arts at the National Gallery of Art.
On September 20 and 28 at Noon and on September 24 and 26 at 1:00 p.m. Gallery Talks will be held on Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier (1856–1909) beginning in the West Building Rotunda.
On October 15 Karen Lemmey will present a lecture introducing Charpentier in the East Building Auditorium at 2:00 p.m.
Also on October 15 a concert of 19th-century French music featuring soprano Alessandra Marc will be held in honor of the exhibition in the West Building Garden Court at 6:30 p.m.
Information about the exhibition and links to related resources can be found on the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov/exhibitions/charpentierinfo.shtm.
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