DOI issue:
No. 49 (April, 1897)
DOI article:Mourey, Gabriel: A decorative modeller: Alexandre Charpentier
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18388#0166
A Decorative Modeller
flowers, and the tap is in the form of a salamander
grasping a frog.
Despite the abundance of detail, there is perfect
unity in the whole composition, and the artist's
absolute sense of proportion and values gives to
the work an air of complete harmony. Everything
is carefully thought out, according to the artist's
own ideas, nothing being left to chance, and, never-
theless, it all has an air of spontaneous freshness,
and is full of charming surprises, thanks to the
cunning suppleness of the modelling. The secret
of the whole thing is that, apart from the fancy and
1
c'.-j-:■¥''/■■ h-____________; .y '
BAS RELIEF BY A. CHARPENTIER
the imagination he has put into the work, the artist
has not disdained to follow the eternal principle of
decorative art—namely, to remember the practical
object of the article, and the proper employment
of his materials. In this case the material is tin, a
metal rich and powerful, soft and strong at the same
time, with a surface, now clear and shining, now
dull and heavy, and always attractive. One must
see the original to get an idea of the skill with
which the artist has distributed his motifs ; how he
has proportioned the variations of relief, and how
160
he has adapted his modelling effects to catch the
play of light.
We find the same evidence of fanciful originality
BAS RELIEF BY A. CHARPENTIER
and careful consistency in his minor works of
everyday utility. It may indeed be said that to
Alexandre Charpentier belongs the credit of bring-
ing tin-work into use once more. He has employed
it most delightfully in such ordinary things as a
wine jug, ornamented with a vintage festival, a.
coffee-pot, a cream-jug, with the handle in the form!
of a satyr playing the flute, a bread brush, and a.
crumb-scraper of very novel design, and a chande-
lier, called Le Secret, with two bodies distorted and
moving in the most curious fashion. He has also-
brought tin-work into service for marqueterie, for
decorative panels, for lock-plates, and other purposes.
Notable examples of his work are seen in his armoire-
a-layette, page 163, and his letter-box. Simplicity
itself in point of style, the two little pieces of furni-
ture are charming in their poetic utility, if one may
so express it. The layette case, the little receptacle:
where the baby clothes are put away, is ornamented
with low-relief work in tin, framed in bright fresh
coloured sycamore, harmonising beautifully with
the metal. On the door is a young mother nursing
her child ; while the drawer is ornamented with
two pretty infant faces, plump-cheeked and round-
headed. Very delicate mai-queterie in tin-work is also-
employed here and there with great effect. This is.
flowers, and the tap is in the form of a salamander
grasping a frog.
Despite the abundance of detail, there is perfect
unity in the whole composition, and the artist's
absolute sense of proportion and values gives to
the work an air of complete harmony. Everything
is carefully thought out, according to the artist's
own ideas, nothing being left to chance, and, never-
theless, it all has an air of spontaneous freshness,
and is full of charming surprises, thanks to the
cunning suppleness of the modelling. The secret
of the whole thing is that, apart from the fancy and
1
c'.-j-:■¥''/■■ h-____________; .y '
BAS RELIEF BY A. CHARPENTIER
the imagination he has put into the work, the artist
has not disdained to follow the eternal principle of
decorative art—namely, to remember the practical
object of the article, and the proper employment
of his materials. In this case the material is tin, a
metal rich and powerful, soft and strong at the same
time, with a surface, now clear and shining, now
dull and heavy, and always attractive. One must
see the original to get an idea of the skill with
which the artist has distributed his motifs ; how he
has proportioned the variations of relief, and how
160
he has adapted his modelling effects to catch the
play of light.
We find the same evidence of fanciful originality
BAS RELIEF BY A. CHARPENTIER
and careful consistency in his minor works of
everyday utility. It may indeed be said that to
Alexandre Charpentier belongs the credit of bring-
ing tin-work into use once more. He has employed
it most delightfully in such ordinary things as a
wine jug, ornamented with a vintage festival, a.
coffee-pot, a cream-jug, with the handle in the form!
of a satyr playing the flute, a bread brush, and a.
crumb-scraper of very novel design, and a chande-
lier, called Le Secret, with two bodies distorted and
moving in the most curious fashion. He has also-
brought tin-work into service for marqueterie, for
decorative panels, for lock-plates, and other purposes.
Notable examples of his work are seen in his armoire-
a-layette, page 163, and his letter-box. Simplicity
itself in point of style, the two little pieces of furni-
ture are charming in their poetic utility, if one may
so express it. The layette case, the little receptacle:
where the baby clothes are put away, is ornamented
with low-relief work in tin, framed in bright fresh
coloured sycamore, harmonising beautifully with
the metal. On the door is a young mother nursing
her child ; while the drawer is ornamented with
two pretty infant faces, plump-cheeked and round-
headed. Very delicate mai-queterie in tin-work is also-
employed here and there with great effect. This is.