Pierre Macret
Encyclopedia
Pierre Macret was a well-known Parisian cabinetmaker (ébéniste
). At the death of the widow of Jean-Pierre Latz
in December 1756, he received Latz' court warrant as marchaud-ébéniste privilegié du Roi suivant de la Cour, ("royally privileged merchant-cabinetmaker following the court"), a brevet that exempted him from the stringent regulations of the Paris guild. In 1758 he was belatedly admitted maître-ébéniste by the guild, which henceforth required him to stamp his production. Numerous pieces bearing Macret's poinçon survive.
He retained premises in the fashionable rue Saint-Honoré near the church of Saint-Roch, across from the passage of the Académie de Musique. From 1765 to 1771 he provided furniture ordered by the Menus-Plaisirs: a commode of ca 1770 branded for the Garde-Meuble de la dauphine Marie-Antoinette, is now at Versailles
. Macret also worked on occasion for the fashionable marchand-mercier
Lazare Duvaux
, for in the inventory compiled on Duvaux's death in 1758, Macret appears among the creditors: he was owed the considerable sum of 1169 livres.
Among his finest works is a slant-front writing-desk in Louis XV style, lacquered red with raised gilded figures in Chinese style
, from the Forsythe Wickes collection now at Boston Museum of Fine Arts. On several commode
s and corner cabinets (encoignures) dating from the 1760s he employed tôle panels imitating Japanese lacquer.
Macret married Jeanne Foulliėre. Though he retired from active practice in 1787, he was still alive in 1796.'
Ébéniste
Ébéniste is the French word for a cabinetmaker, whereas in French menuisier denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker. The English equivalent for "ébéniste," "ebonist," is never commonly used. Originally, an ébéniste was one who worked with ebony, a favoured luxury wood for mid-seventeenth century...
). At the death of the widow of Jean-Pierre Latz
Jean-Pierre Latz
Jean-Pierre Latz was one of the handful of truly outstanding cabinetmakers working in Paris in the mid-18th century. Like several of his peers in the French capital, he was of German origin...
in December 1756, he received Latz' court warrant as marchaud-ébéniste privilegié du Roi suivant de la Cour, ("royally privileged merchant-cabinetmaker following the court"), a brevet that exempted him from the stringent regulations of the Paris guild. In 1758 he was belatedly admitted maître-ébéniste by the guild, which henceforth required him to stamp his production. Numerous pieces bearing Macret's poinçon survive.
He retained premises in the fashionable rue Saint-Honoré near the church of Saint-Roch, across from the passage of the Académie de Musique. From 1765 to 1771 he provided furniture ordered by the Menus-Plaisirs: a commode of ca 1770 branded for the Garde-Meuble de la dauphine Marie-Antoinette, is now at Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
. Macret also worked on occasion for the fashionable marchand-mercier
Marchand-mercier
A marchand-mercier is a French term for a type of entrepreneur working outside the guild system of craftsmen but carefully constrained by the regulations of a corporation under rules codified in 1613.. The reduplicative term literally means a merchant of merchandise, but in the 18th century took...
Lazare Duvaux
Lazare Duvaux
Lazare Duvaux was a Parisian marchand-mercier, among the most prominent designers and purveyors of furnishings, gilt-bronze-mounted European and Chinese porcelains, Vincennes porcelain and later Sèvres porcelain and all the small, refined luxuries that appealed to Mme de Pompadour, one of his...
, for in the inventory compiled on Duvaux's death in 1758, Macret appears among the creditors: he was owed the considerable sum of 1169 livres.
Among his finest works is a slant-front writing-desk in Louis XV style, lacquered red with raised gilded figures in Chinese style
Chinoiserie
Chinoiserie, a French term, signifying "Chinese-esque", and pronounced ) refers to a recurring theme in European artistic styles since the seventeenth century, which reflect Chinese artistic influences...
, from the Forsythe Wickes collection now at Boston Museum of Fine Arts. On several commode
Commode
A commode, commode with legs, or commode on legs is any of several pieces of furniture. The word commode comes from the French word for "convenient" or "suitable", which in turn comes from the Latin adjective commodus, with similar meanings.Originally, in French furniture, a commode introduced...
s and corner cabinets (encoignures) dating from the 1760s he employed tôle panels imitating Japanese lacquer.
Macret married Jeanne Foulliėre. Though he retired from active practice in 1787, he was still alive in 1796.'