“Madame de Pompadour”
This lovely oil on canvas portrait, titled “Madame de Pompadour”, was created by the French Rococo artist, François Boucher, in 1756. The warm and cool tones of the painting complement each other and make the figure of Pompadour really stand out.
Madame de Pompadour (Jeanne Antoinette Poisson) was the chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 until 1750, and then was 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 to the royal court. As such, she worked hard to cement her social status and the public opinion of her.
Madame de Pompadour had been painted by many artists during her lifetime. She used her portraits as a means of communicating her position to the general public. This painting here shows Pompadour dressed in expensive refinery with many small fashion details depicted that were usually reserved only for royalty. She is shown reading a book and sitting next to a table with a quill pen and envelope. There are also books in a shelf in the background and music sheets by her feet. All this signifies her intellectual prowess.
When this painting 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 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. She had Boucher 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 on display as part of 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.
