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Madame de Pompadour | |
|---|---|
| Marquise of Pompadour | |
 Portrait by Charles-André van Loo, ca.1755 | |
| Coat of arms |  |
| Full name | Jeanne Antoinette Poisson |
| Born | 29 December 1721 Paris, Kingdom of France |
| Died | 15 April 1764 (aged 42) Paris, Kingdom of France |
| Buried | Couvent des Capucines |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue |
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| 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]
- ^ Eleanor Herman, Sex with Kings: 500 Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry, and Revenge (New York: Barnes and Noble, 2011), 9 and Gere Charlotte and Marina Vaizey, Great Women Collectors (London: Philip Wilson, 1999), 45.
- ^ Algrant, Christine Pevitt (2002). Madame de Pompadour Mistree of France. New York: Grove Press. pp. 9, 13, 115, 187.
- ^ James A. Moncure, ed. Research Guide to European Historical Biography: 1450–present (4 vol 1992); 4:1646–53
- ^ Hyde, Melissa (2000). "The "Makeup" of the Marquise: Boucher's Portrait of Pompadour at Her Toilette". The Art Bulletin. 82 (3): 453–475. doi:10.2307/3051397. JSTOR 3051397.