Madame de Pompadour
Her real name was Jeanne Poisson, ( Jean Fish ) she was born in 1721, her mother was Louise-Madeleine de la Motte and her father was François Poisson. In 1727 her father was exiled because of misappropriation of public money.
She received her education in a convent, like the most part of the young ladies in XVIII century.
At adolescence, her mother took personal charge of her education at home by hiring teachers who taught her to recite entire plays by heart, play the clavichord, dance, sing, paint and engrave.
She became an accomplished actress and singer, and also attended Paris's Club de l'Entresol .
The greatest expense of her education was undoubtedly the employment of renowned singers and actors, such as Pierre Jélyotte.
In 1741...... at age 19..... she married Charles D'Etiolles, and after few months she became a mother for the first time.
In 1744 she also had a daughter, Alexandrine, who died when she was age 10.
Contemporary opinion supported by artwork from the time considered the young Mme d'Étiolles to be quite beautiful, with her small mouth and oval face enlivened by her wit. Her young husband was infatuated with her and she was celebrated in the fashionable world of Paris.
She founded her own salon, at Étiolles, and was joined by many of the great philosophes........ Voltaire among them.
In Feb 1745 she took part to a ball organised for the wedding of the Dauphin, where she met King Louis 15th for the first time.
For the king it was the classic "coup de foudre":
In septembre she was presented in Versailles and she became officially the Marquise of Pompadour.
She had the ability to maintain the title of "Maitresse du Roi" even if in 1750 she ceased being the king's mistress:
Although no longer the King's mistress she continued to be his close friend and confidante.
The onset of the Seven Years' War..... 1754 to 1763..... brought on disasters to France, like the loss of New France in Canada to the British and the defeat at the hands of the Prussians in the Battle of Rossbach, in 1757.
After Rossbach the Marquise is alleged to have comforted the king saying the now famous phrase.......... "au reste, après nous, le Déluge" ("After us, the Deluge")
. France emerged from the war diminished and virtually bankrupt.
Madame de Pompadour put all of her effort into bringing fun into the melancholy life of the King.
Unlike his wife or the other females in King Louis’ life the Marquise de Pompadour often accompanied him while hunting, playing cards, and touring properties.
She also threw dinner parties for him and put on plays that exalted him.
Lastly, the royal mistress continuously reminded Louis of her beauty by frequently commissioning paintings, mostly by Francois Boucher, paintings that flattered her and highlighted her exquisite features.
The Marquise was a woman of great culture: she patronized artists, like Boucher, and she promoted French craftmanship.
She also contributed to the transformation of rocaille style into the neoclassical style. At the end of her life she began the building of Trianon (so we can say that there is a link between her and Marie Antoinette!!),
The Marquise de Pompadour was an accomplished woman with a good eye for Rococo interiors.
She was responsible for the development of the manufactory of Sèvres, which became one of the most famous porcelain manufacturers in Europe , providing skilled jobs to the region.
She also had a keen interest in literature..... she had known Voltaire before her ascendancy, and the writer, essayist and philosopher advised her in her courtly role.
She also discreetly endorsed Diderot's controversial Encyclopédie project.
After the War of the Austrian Succession, when economy was the thing the French state needed most, she drew more and more resources into the lavish, Royal court.
In 1764 she died suddenly at the age of 42
At the time of her death, many of her enemies were greatly relieved and she was publicly blamed for the Seven Years' War.
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