Alexandre Charpentier

Who was Alexandre Charpentier?

Alexandre-Louis-Marie Charpentier 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 were subsequently mass-produced and commercially sold.