Madame de Pompadour

Alte Pinakothek

Description

Four years after her marriage to Charles-Guillaume Le Normant d’Etioles, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson became the mistress of Louis XV (1745). Her intellectual accomplishments, much appreciated by the king, enabled her to rise quickly to a prominent position at court. The high point of her career was the appointment as lady in waiting (dame du palais) of the queen on 7 February 1756. This occasion probably prompted the creation of the painting that connects features of a private likeness with those of a state portrait.

Rights Statement Description

CC BY-SA 4.0