Art History Series: Madame de Pompadour by the brush of Francois Boucher, 1756
- Ladureena
- Oct 23, 2024
- 2 min read
I have already told you separately about these two people, now I want to focus on the connection between them and this particular painting from 1756. The famous Madame Pompadour became the king's maîtresse-en-titre (official mistress) in 1745. Here we can already see her in the pinnacle of her courtly influence and in her position as the most powerful female figure. She skillfully used her power, authority, elegant taste and access to the king's treasury to patron the greatest artists and craftsmen of her time, which included François Boucher.
Despite today's availability of clothes, I hope to take you into the world in which this particular painting and the image in it was created. Madame Pompadour spends a huge amount of the state budget on her wardrobe, which is not only lavish and expensive, but also with a completely new taste for her time, which made the labour of sewing it even more expensive. Here we can see her wearing a silk dress richly decorated with ribbons and roses showing off her romantic nature. In most sources it is considered to be green, but there are also theories that it may have had a blue tint. The hem of her skirt is higher to reveal her equally impressive shoes while dancing, hand embroidered and silk again.
Alongside her we can see symbols of all her diverse interests and spheres of influence, which I think are worth enumerating so that you can find them in other paintings you come across: the quill shows her support of Diderot and Voltaire, and other Enlightenment authors; book in her hands - her interest in education, well deserved as her library numbered 3,500 books; the architectural drawings in the lower left are for her projects such as the Petit Trianon (Little Trianon), which I had the honour of spending the night in recently, with architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel. All designs are of course in her (and my) favorite Rococo style.
There we can also see her King Charles Spaniel, Mimi, who in this case symbolizes her dedication and devotion to the King, and the two roses – one for Madame Pompadour and one for King Louis XV further show that she is devoted exclusively and only to him. Much of the connection we have today about roses and love starts from here.
Boucher, as her confidant and an artist whose fame grew enormously thanks to her, completely changed the way in which portraits were shown at that time. He manages to show her in all her glory along with her intelligence, her multiple interests at a time when women were hardly educated and above all with her obvious charm and calm elegance.
If you want to see this masterpiece, you can do so at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.
Regards,
Julia
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