Those of you who followed me for a long time may have seen my old, archived version of the enchanting mistress & confidante of Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour. From time to time I revise and repost new versions. For some reason, this portrait of her by François Boucher was so intriguing to me. Her shy smile and eyes that aren’t quite a specific color were very enchanting, as I’m sure they were during her life. Check out Louis XV, who was a previous subject as well!.Jeanne Antoinette Poisson (known later as Madame de Pompadour) was a member of the French court in the mid 18th century. She was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death. She was not born noble, but was raised in a wealthy household. An interesting fact I learned during my research was that she was actually groomed from a young age to become the mistress of a king. Supposedly her mother took her to a fortune teller that predicted she would one day reign over the heart of a King. She received a private education and was very quick witted - learning all the skills she would one day need to thrive at Versailles. As the king’s mistress she became a noblewoman and was considered a valuable aide and advisor. Pompadour was a major patroness of architecture and decorative arts, especially porcelain. She was a patroness of the philosophes of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire.
Left Portrait: Public Domain, Right Portrait base: Pexels.com. Information: based from Wikipedia. Created using Photoshop.
