Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de la Ferté was an amateur draughtsman, designer and print collector; an art critique and connoisseur. As the administrator of the Menus-Plaisirs du Roi, the organization in the royal household he was responsible for the logistical aspects of his the travels, maintenance of the palaces, design and presentation of fêtes and ceremonies, fireworks, balls, ballets, weddings and funerals, furniture, jewelry at the court of France, beginning with his appointment in 1756.

The Menus-Plaisirs du Roi was, in the organisation of the French royal household under the Ancien Régime, the department of the Maison du Roi responsible for the "lesser pleasures of the King", which meant in practice that it was in charge of all the preparations for ceremonies, events and festivities, down to the last detail of design and order.