Alexandre Charpentier began his career working for a medal maker. He was very much at the forefront of the revival of interest in medal-making and low-relief plaques of the period. This art form very much suited the Art Nouveau ethos and the fascination for whip-lash lines.
He belonged to the group Les Cinq (which later changed its name to Les Six and then Les Huit as new members joined) who at the 1898 Paris exhibition advertised their ambitions to integrate art into present-day life and to make everyday items beautiful and meaningful. They, like Emile Gallé, believed in the transformative and redemptive power of the arts to change not just an individual but broader society, and even the national economy.