Shooting Star
Bronze
20 3/4 x 27 x 12 in
Biography
Félix Maurice Charpentier was born in Bolène, France on the 10th of January 1858. He developed his artistic interest as a child, sculpting wood and clay figurines in his backyard. At the age of 16 he entered the College of Avignon and studied under the sculptor Armand. In 1877 Charpentier moved to Paris and began his studies at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he studied under Pierre Cavelier and Amédée Doublemard. In 1879 he exhibited his first works at the Paris Salon. His first success came in 1882 at the exhibition of the Salon des Artistes Français, when he received an honorable mention for “The Rest of the Harvester.” In 1884 he received a third class medal for his “Young Fauna,” and in 1887 a travel grant and a second-class medal for “The Improviser.” He subsequently traveled to Spain and Italy where he was influenced by the art of Goya and the Spanish Primitives and Tanagra figurines. When he returned to France he exhibited again at the Paris Salon and in 1890 was awarded a first class medal and the exhibition prize for “The Song.” In 1892 Charpentier was decorated with the title of chevalier of the Legion of Honor. The following year he received many commissions from the government for the creation of public monuments. These include the decoration of the Gare de Lyon, and monuments to Madier de Montjau and Emile Jamais. He is the author of forty some war monuments and over 200 busts of prominent personages of the time. Throughout the rest of his career he worked often for the government, creating public monuments and sculptures such as the monumental fountain “La Source Humaine” for the Luxembourg Gardens. In 1900 Charpentier exhibited works at the Paris World’s Fair where the President of the French Republic, Emile Loubat, awarded him an officer’s rosette of the Legion of Honor. Charpentier died in Paris in 1924.
