Paul Claude-Michel Carpentier (27 November 1787 in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

– 10 May 1877 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a French

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

, genre, history painter and author. He studied with Jean-Jacques Lebarbier (1738–1826) and briefly with

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

(1748–1825). Until 1824 he exhibited at the Salons under his family name LeCarpentier, but after 1824 shortened his last name to Carpentier. In 1825 Carpentier earned a silver and bronze medal respectively at salons in

Douai Douai ( , , ; ; ; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord département in northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe (rive ...

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

for his painting ''A Painter in His Studio Giving Advice to his Young Student''. Then he exhibited at the Paris Salons from 1827-1839.

Encaustic painting

Carpentier often made his paintings using the

encaustic painting Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, is a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The molten mix is applied to a surface—usually prepared wood, though canvas and other mate ...

method, an ancient process that uses melted wax as a binder for pigment. Because of this interest, in 1875 he wrote the monograph ''Note Sur à la Peinture la Cire Cautérisée ou Procéde Encaustique'' which addresses all aspects of the process from softening the wax, mixing the colors with wax, the proper preparation of canvas, walls, stone, and panels, whether wood or zinc. Then follows with how to create a matte or glossy finish and concludes with examples of antique encaustic works at the Louvre that testify to the method’s durability. The article includes images of the tools to melt wax as well as a recommended plan and layout for one’s paint box. Today the monograph remains a valuable resource for painting conservators.

Notice sur Daguerre

Carpentier was a friend of Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre (1787–1851) and in 1855 he wrote ''Notice sur Daguerre'', which is a first hand account of the invention of photography and the diorama.

Societies

Throughout his life Carpentier was quite involved in the Société Libre de Beaux-Arts. He was a founding member of Société de Secour Mutuels entre les Artistes, an organization that provided financial support to infirmed and elderly artists as well as their surviving widows and children.

Museum collections

American museums owning works by Carpentier include

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the A ...

and Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. French museums with works by Carpentier include:

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen () is an art museum in Rouen, in Normandy in north-western France. It was established by Napoléon Bonaparte in 1801, and is housed in a building designed by and built between 1877, and 1888. Its collections in ...

(Rouen), Musee Carnavalet (Paris), French Society of Photography (Paris), Musée d’art d’archéologie et de sciences naturelles (Troy), Musée des Beaux-arts - Valenciennes (Valenciennes),

Musée national des Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

(Versailles), Sarlet-la Canéda muse d’histoire de Sarlet et du Périgora Noir, Musée de Montagris,

Society Française de Photographie A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority and dominant cultural expecta ...

(Paris) and

Musée Carnavalet The Musée Carnavalet () in Paris is dedicated to the History of Paris, history of the city. The museum occupies two neighboring mansions: the Hôtel Carnavalet and the former Hôtel Le Peletier de Saint Fargeau. On the advice of Baron Haussmann, ...

(Paris).

References

* MacLeod, Martha J. "New Discoveries: Paul Claude-Michel Carpentier," Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide, Volume 17, Issue One, Spring 2018
/ref> {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpentier, Paul Claude-Michel 1789 births 1877 deaths 18th-century French painters 19th-century French painters Artists from Rouen Painters from Normandy