Félix Charpentier
Félix Charpentier was a French sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
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 1869 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 of Honour. 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.Principal works
War Memorials
After the end of the 1914–1918 war there was a huge demand for sculptors to work on war memorials 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. 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. |
| 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. | |
| War Memorial at Bonneval | Eure-et-Loir | Charpentier was responsible for the sculpture on the Bonneval War Memorial. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| War Memorial at Béville-le-Comte | Eure et Loir | 1923 | Charpentier carves the figure of a soldier from limestone. |
| War Memorial at Fruncé | Eure et Loir | 1923 | Charpentier carves another soldier from limestone. The memorial's inauguration took place on 13 May 1923. |
| War Memorial at Unverre | Eure et Loir |