Friday, October 11, 2013

Madame de Pompadour in the Moonlight

Madame de Pompadour
Apparently some people think this is a portrait of Marie-Antoinette. It is not; it is Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, the Marquise de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV. (Via Tiny-Librarian.) As royal mistress she spent more money in a year than Marie-Antoinette did in her entire life. The Marquise helped to arrange the marriage of Marie-Antoinette to the Dauphin Louis-Auguste (Louis XVI) but the two never met. However, Marie-Antoinette also had herself painted in a moonlit garden, HERE. Share

5 comments:

The North Coast said...

How on Earth could anyone confuse Mme. Pompadour with Marie Antoinette? This iconic Boucher portrait of Pompadour is one of the most famous paintings in the world, and the painter did about a half-dozen portraits of Pompadour wearing various versions of the beautiful gown she wears here. It was surely her favorite dress and I believe it was based on her own design. She had artistic talent as well as having been intellectually gifted.

But, then, the confusion is understandable in a population of people who commonly don't know the capitol cities of the states they live in, or think that the Civil War took place in 1776.

julygirl said...

Magnificent painting.....you are so right North Coast!

Marcy K. said...

Wonderful post and attached link posts too. What do you think are the best biographies of both Marie-Antoinette and Mme. Pompadour?

elena maria vidal said...

My favorite bio of Marie-Antoinette is the 2 volume study by Nesta Webster. My favorite bio of La Pompadour is Nancy Mitford's.

Marcy K. said...

Thanks so much! I can't wait to read them.