Madame de Pompadour | |
---|---|
Marquise of Pompadour | |
![]() Portrait by Charles-André van Loo, ca.1755 | |
Coat of arms | ![]() |
Full name | Jeanne Antoinette Poisson |
Born | Paris, Kingdom of France | 29 December 1721
Died | 15 April 1764 Paris, Kingdom of France | (aged 42)
Buried | Couvent des Capucines |
Spouse(s) | |
Issue |
|
Father | François Poisson |
Mother | Madeleine de La Motte |
Signature | |
Occupation | Chief mistress of Louis XV |
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (/ˈpɒmpədʊər/, French: [pɔ̃paduʁ] ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death.[1]
Pompadour took charge of the king's schedule and was a valued aide and advisor, despite her frail health and many political enemies. She secured titles of nobility for herself and her relatives, and built a network of clients and supporters. She was particularly careful not to alienate the popular Queen, Marie Leszczyńska. On 8 February 1756, the Marquise de Pompadour was named as the thirteenth lady-in-waiting to the queen, a position considered the most prestigious at the court, which accorded her with honors.[2]
Pompadour was a major patron of architecture and decorative arts, especially porcelain. She was a patron of the philosophes of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire.
Hostile critics at the time generally tarred her as a malevolent political influence, but historians are more favorable, emphasizing her successes as a patron of the arts and a champion of French pride.[3] Modern historians suggest that the critics of Pompadour were driven by fears over the overturning of the existing hierarchies that Pompadour's power and influence represented, as a woman who was not born into the aristocracy.[4][additional citation(s) needed]