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This is a portrait by Charles André Van Loo of Madame de Pompadour en belle jardinière. Photo by Charles-André van Loo- Wikimedia commons
Top 10 Interesting Facts about Madame de Pompadour
Madame de Pompadour, was among the most iconic mistresses in French history, captured Louis XV’s attention and influence after disguising herself as a shepherdess at a masquerade party. She rapidly became the royal mistress however, not before convincing the King to buy her the royal title of marquise. Her impact in fashion, art and politics solidified her legacy; here are a few things we should thank her for.
1.Madame de Pompadour’s upbringing in France
Francois Poisson and his wife Madeline de la Motte had a daughter named Jeanne Antoinette. Although Poisson was her legal father and her mother’s husband, Jeanne’s biological father was most likely Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem, a rich tax collector. When Jeanne Antoinette was four years old, Francois Poisson was forced to flee the country because of outstanding debts, and Tournehem became her primary caretaker, giving credibility to the speculations that he was her biological father.
2.According to a foreteller, she was destined for royalty
Jeanne Antoinette, like many other girls from wealthy families, was sent to a convent when she was five years old. Her education was brilliant and she was a talented student. She unfortunately became sick and had to go back home four years later.
Her mother brought her to a foreteller, who prophesied that Jeanne Antoinette would win a king’s heart. Those relatively close to her started referring to her as “Reinette” (a nickname ” which means “little queen”) from that point on. She received her education at home from the best tutors. Tournehem planned for her to be educated in all the subjects considered important for a woman’s curriculum, so that she might one day pique the king’s attention.
3.One of Europe’s most finest ceramic company was influenced by her
Madame de Pompadour’s close stool in the Cabinet des Dépêches. Photo by Trizek- Wikimedia commons
Mme. de Pompadour, as a successful woman and influencer, had a discerning sense for interior decoration. She was instrumental in the growth of Sèvres, which evolved into one of Europe’s greatest porcelain manufacturers. Its tea services, vases and inkstands were so costly that only a very few can buy them. The company was founded to outperform the efficiency of Meissen and Dresden porcelain and it still persists today however, with more modern styles.
4.She was always a powerful woman even before being a impactful mistress
She began her time in power in modesty at Versailles. She was settled in a number of rooms beneath the roof, and she set out to please everyone who mattered in the palace, starting with Queen Marie (Maria Leszczyska). Marie was an improper wife for the good-looking, artistic, alluring, and delight Louis XV; she was eight years her senior and side-tracked with the wellbeing of her father (a former king of Poland), motherhood, and religious practice. She informed the king that she did not want to be physically intimate with him after birthing a successor to the crown (and eight or nine other children between 1727 and 1737).
Madame de Pompadour relocated downstairs to a grand residence after five intimate years in her loft. Louis XV started taking other mistresses however, Madame de Pompadour was stronger than ever; favors, promotions, and perks could only be achieved through her good offices.
5.She was so brilliant that a hairstyle created by her still exists
Statue of Elvis in downtown Nashville. Photo by Drew Beamer- Unsplash
The pompadour hairstyle is defined by hair slicked upwards from the face and worn high over the forehead. It gained popularity as the ideal hairstyle of Mme de Pompadour and the 18th-century French female court circle. The style was revived at the turn of the twentieth century as part of the Gibson Girl look, and again in the 1950s as part of the rock and roll look. The most notable example is Elvis Presley’s slicked back hair.
6.As she was highly educated and was vocal in publishing the first encyclopaedia in France
Pompadour was a very smart trendsetter, socialized with great minds such as Voltaire and Diderot and actively campaigned for the publishing of France’s first encyclopaedia.
7.She had tragic mishaps when it came to her children
Pompadour and her husband, Charles Guillaume, had a tumultuous marriage from the start. They had two children together however, neither of them survived caused by tragic deaths. Their son passed away a year after birth, and their daughter, Alexandrine Le Normant D’Etiolles, passed away in 1755 of a stomach disease. She was nine years old at the time.
8.She had great influence over interior design in France
Pair of Duplessis mantel sconces. Manufacture de Sèvres, about 1760. Tender porcelaine. Collection of madame de Pompadour. Purchase 1985. Louvre museum (Paris, France). Photo by Tangopaso- Wikimedia commons
Pompadour strongly impacted and prompted advancement in the “Rococo” flair of fine and decorative arts, for instance, through her sponsorship of artists such as Boucher and the constant refurnishment of the fifteen residences she shared with Louis. This style, like Pompadour’s, was criticized by some as a deleterious “feminine” impact, notwithstanding the fact that it was accepted by both men and women.
Nevertheless, it is commonly believed that Madame de Pompadour surrounded herself with renowned artists in order to attract the king’s attention while developing her national reputation.
Boucher’s oil sketch of Pompadour’s lost portrait hangs in the Starhemberg room of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild’s Waddesdon Manor, surrounded by Sèvres porcelain, another industry she strongly impacted and reinvented through personal propagation throughout a worldwide reach of her own customers.
9.She was always very strategic with her moves, like a chess player
Pompadour dressed up for the masquerade ball. She disguised herself as Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, in reference to how she had first pursued the king on his hunting trip. We can suspect Louis acknowledged her provocative attire. He revealed his face to her at the ball and openly announced his love for Madame de Pompadour.
10.Her early death due to a chronic disease
She unfortunately passed away of what sources say to be of tuberculosis at the age of 42, in 1764, at Versailles. The end of this “twenty-year friendship” had a profound effect on the King.
