Der im Kurfürstentum

Jean-Pierre Latz (1691—1754), born in the Holy Roman Electorate of Cologne, is regarded today as a leading cabinet-maker of his time. The special exhibition by the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts), a member of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD, Dresden State Art Collections) complex, is the first in the world to place the man and his work centre stage. It marks the final flourish in an extensive project of research and restoration. During “Fait à Paris: Furniture Creations by Jean-Pierre Latz at the Dresden Court” (19 October 2024‒2 February 2025) the furniture, on show for the first time since the Second World War, can be seen at the Residenzschloss, where the State Apartments have undergone an unorthodox rearrangement to accommodate the event. This is, at the same time, another major step towards reinstating the royal suite in the palace. 

In Paris, Latz created masterpieces of great complexity reflecting a stylistic transition from heavy, rigorously symmetrical Baroque to Rococo with its lightness and asymmetry. The clock cases and pedestals fashioned with such excellence in his workshops were often conceived as series of up to four identical specimens. They combine exquisite marquetry (“Boulle work”) of tortoiseshell, brass, ebony, mother-of-pearl, tinted horn or precious tropical wood with lavish fire-gilt fittings known as bronzes. The copious collection of works by Latz has remained in Dresden ever since it was purchased in the latter half of the 18th century and is unique for its exhaustive documentation and authentic condition. 

August III, son of August the Strong, and his prime minister Heinrich Graf von Brühl had these luxurious French creations by Latz, which served as status symbols, delivered straight from Paris to the Saxon court, where they stayed well into the 20th century and even inspired imitators such as the court cabinet-maker Johann August Türpe. During the Second World War some of Latz’s furniture was removed for safe storage outside Dresden, where it suffered damage; other items, notably the “palm tree clocks”, remained in the palace and were badly damaged when the city was bombed. They were later registered as war losses. In the post-war years, Latz’s furniture was kept in the SKD warehouse on account of its condition and fell into oblivion. These pieces were only rediscovered following implementation of the museum database Daphne, which resulted from 2008 onwards in an inventory of all SKD holdings.

Parallel to the reconstruction of the State Apartments, the Museum of Decorative Arts launched an international, interdisciplinary research and restoration project devoted to 30 individual pieces and 20 ensembles by Latz, including opulent clock cases mounted on pedestals, a cartonnier and a commode. In the process, the restorers came across handwritten maker’s marks with the words “Fait à Paris” (en: made in Paris) inside two clock pedestals. This mark lends its name to the exhibition and also symbolises the high esteem in which this sumptuous French furniture was held in courts across Europe. Conserved and restored, the pieces made by Latz can now return to their historical setting in the Residenzschloss.

In the exhibition, the research recently conducted by art historians and technologists allows visitors to look beyond the surface of the furniture. Animated films compiled by the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) in Dresden use software to dismantle the items into parts, demonstrating how the Latz workshops operated, while the history of the originals is illustrated from their making and subsequent deterioration through to their restoration. Latz comes personally into focus as an individual, artist and entrepreneur. Loans from Rome, Potsdam and Dresden indicate his diplomatic, dynastic and commercial networks, providing further insights into his stylistic range as a cabinet-maker. 

From 17 until 19 November 2024 the Museum of Decorative Arts will host a specialist conference entitled “Fait à Paris”. The proceedings will be presented in a publication in the spring of 2025. 

François Delattre, Ambassador of the Republic of France in Germany: “Art has never known borders. Art has always told a history, our history. ‘Fait à Paris’ offers a fascinating insight into the Franco-Saxon exchange of crafts and culture at the Dresden court. The exhibition of work by Jean-Pierre Latz, one of the most prominent ébénistes in Paris during the first half of the 18th century, conjures up for us the eventful history of the last three centuries. As patron I extend my cordial thanks to the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden for their commitment and their expertise. I am also most grateful to all the restorers and researchers for their remarkable restoration and research and to the Stiftung Preussische Schlösser und Gärten in Berlin-Brandenburg and the Palazzo Del Quirinale, whose valuable loans will complement the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts, already unique in its size and composition.”

Marion Ackermann, Director-General of the SKD: “‘Fait à Paris’ is a very special première because for the first time ever the State Apartments in the Residenzschloss will provide the venue for a temporary exhibition, setting the scene for a multifaceted rediscovery of Jean-Pierre Latz and his sumptuous furniture. The exhibition is a symbol of exchange between Germany and France, which was already so important in Latz’s day and still retains its groundbreaking significance today. We are all the more delighted, therefore, that France’s Ambassador to Germany, François Delattre, agreed to act as patron for this project. It is, moreover, thanks to the commitment of many other sponsors and partners that the fruits of years of research and restoration can now be displayed in such splendour.”

Thomas A. Geisler, Director of the Museum of Decorative Arts: “With ‘Fait à Paris’ we have succeeded in granting visitors to the Residenzschloss in Dresden an insight into the extensive collection at the Museum of Decorative Arts and in featuring the furniture by Jean-Pierre Latz in a new light. The production of his masterpieces required a great deal of time, skill and resources, as have the restoration and investigation of these unique items. We are all the more grateful that this project was able to arouse the enthusiasm of so many participants. Together we have managed to extend the longevity of Latz’s works, to revive their splendour and now, after almost 80 years, to bring them back to the place where they once enchanted admirers in the past.”

Further details about the research and restoration project can be found at: https://forschung.skd.museum/en/projects/detail/jean-pierre-latz-fait-a-paris/.

To the exhibition