“Madame de Pompadour”
The grand Madame de Pompadour…
“Madame de Pompadour” is a lovely oil on canvas portrait by the French Rococo artist, François Boucher, from 1756. The warm and cool tones of the painting complement each other and make the figure of Pompadour really stand out.
Madame de Pompadour, born Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, was the chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 until 1750, and then served as his closest adviser and friend until her death in 1764 at age 42 from tuberculosis. Through her intelligence, social mastery, and good relations with the queen, Pompadour quickly rose through the ranks from Marquise in 1745 to Duchess in 1752 to lady-in-waiting to the queen in 1756. Pompadour was born into the bourgeoisie class, and many resented her rise in the royal court. As such, she continually worked to reinforce her elevated social status and the public’s opinion of her.
Madame de Pompadour commissioned portraits by many artists during her lifetime. She used portraiture as a means of communicating her elevated position to the general public. In this piece, Pompadour is wearing expensive finery with exquisite details and accessories usually reserved only for royalty. She is reading a book and sitting next to a table with a quill pen and envelope. Books line the shelves in the background and music sheets lie on the floor by her feet. All of this signifies her intellectual prowess.
When this painting first was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1757, it was criticized for depicting a too idealized version of Pompadour. Critics said that the woman on the canvas that Boucher painted was too young and more beautiful than the real-life Pompadour. By this time, Pompadour was no longer the mistress to Louis XV, and she wanted Boucher’s art to help maintain her relevance to French society.
Boucher was Madame de Pompadour’s favorite artist, and she used him to help solidify her public image by depicting herself how she wanted the public to view her, as an aristocrat with refined tastes. Boucher was commissioned to paint her portrait several times. Due to Pompadour’s influence, Boucher became the court painter to Louis XV and the court of Versailles, and was also commissioned by the queen of Louis XV, Marie Leszczyńska of Poland.
“Madame de Pompadour” is currently in the Bavarian State Painting Collections at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.
For more on François Boucher, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
