A SET OF SIX INTARSIA AND PAINTED ARCHITECTURAL VIEWS BY FRANZ KIENTZ INSPIRED BY THE ENGRAVINGS OF MATTHIAS DIESEL

June 15 2009, 2:59pm

The signature of Franz Kientz appears on the reverse of one of these extraordinary pictures, which combine intricate marquetry with painted skies and water effects. The only other known example of this type of work is an elevated view of Schloss Mannheim, almost certainly by the same artist, which is in the collection of Mannheim Museum. It shares the present pictures' distinctively painted sky, and is peopled with the same characteristic tiny painted figures. A further distinctive feature of Kientz's intarsia is his use of various woods to create the illusion of texture, particularly in his representation of gardens: tight maple burs represent the graveled paths, and a veneer with a meandering grain is used to depict water. The views of Schloss Nymphenburg and Schloss Schleissheim are from a series of engravings of gardens and houses by the German garden designer Matthias Diesel (d. 1752), who brought the French style of garden to Germany's palaces, after his visit to France.