Julie Charpentier

1770 – 1843

Active in: France

Biography

Like many women artists of her generation, Julie Charpentier was born into an artistic family. Her father, François-Philippe Charpentier, was an engraver who enjoyed government sponsorship. Charpentier’s sister, Adélaïde, also practiced as an artist. A sculptor, Charpentier began exhibiting her work in 1787. She made her Salon debut in 1793, exhibiting busts and statuettes. Over the course of her career, Charpentier received numerous commissions from government agencies. By 1801, she was working for the Muséum d’histoire naturelle in Paris, where she worked directly from taxidermy specimens. Despite her success and eventual salaried post with the museum, Charpentier and her family struggled financially. She died in poverty in 1843.

Selected Works

A greenish-blue bust of the head and shoulders of a man with a loose, open collar, receding hairline, and hair that curls just above his ears.

Julie Charpentier, Bust of a Man, 1790. Terracotta, 33.5 x 59 . 24 cm. Musée du château de Blois

A greenish-blue bust of the head and shoulders of a woman with her hair swept away from her face, looking upward.

Julie Charpentier, Bust of a Woman, 1790. Terracotta, 34 x 41 x 21 cm. Musée du château de Blois

An all-white sculpture of a man standing with his weight on one leg, leaning one hand against a pillar. He wears a sash belt, a coat with a high collar and long tail, and may have a folded hat tucked into his arm.

Julie Charpentier, Louis Antoine Ange Chicoilet de Corbigny, n.d. Plaster, 24 x 55 x 11 cm. Musée du château de Blois

A grayish-white bust of the head and chest of a woman, set on a square base decorated with flowers. The woman wears a wrapped and draped cloth that covers her neck, head, and forehead, leaving only a small portion of her face from teh eyebrows to the chin visible. Part of her braided hair pokes out of the wrap at ear level.

Julie Charpentier, Portrait of Clémence Isaure, 1822. Marble, 57 x 44 cm. Musée des Augustins

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Selected works

Circle

Daughter of
engraver François-Philippe Charpentier

Student of
Augustin Pajou

Bibliography

Blancherie, Claude-Mammès Pahin. “Salon de la correspondence pour les sciences et les arts.” Nouvelles de la république des lettres et des arts 8 (1787): 132.

“Charpentier, Julie.” Oxford Art Online. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00036002.

Easterday, Anastasia. “‘Labeur, Honneur, Douleur’: Sculptors Julie Charpentier, Félicie de Fauveau, and Marie d’Orléans.” Women’s Art Journal 18 (1997–98): 11–12.

Gabet, Charles. Dictionnaire des artistes de l’école française, au XIXe siècle. Paris, 1831.

Hamy, Ernest Théodore. “Julie Charpentier, sculpteur et préparateur de zoologie (1770–1845).” Bulletin de Muséum d’histoire naturelle 5 (1899): 329–34.

Oppenheimer, Margaret A. “Julie Charpentier.” SIEFAR. http://www.siefar/org/dictionnaire/fr/Julie_Charpentier.