Throughout his life, Alexander Chaponnier led several front activities: that of physician and surgeon, that of writer and playwright and that, like his father, of painter and engraver.
Holder of a doctorate in medicine from the Faculty of Paris, he was a doctor, surgeon-obstetrician then moved towards teaching and research in oncology, diseases of bones and skin lesions where he advocated the use of barium carbonate.
As a playwright, he is best known for his participation under the pen name Polyanthe, with Antier and Saint-Amand, to the writing of the drama L'Auberge des Adrets, premiered in 1823.
Meant to be a dark melodrama, Frédérick Lemaître, sensing the failure of the play, conceived to turn it into a joke.
If Antier and St. Amand took their advantage of the changes introduced by Lemaitre, Polyanthe vowed "relentless grudge" to the famous actor.