Boucher, François (1703-1770)
Portrait de Madame de Pompadour (Portrait of Madame Pompadour)
1756
Oil on canvas, 205 × 161 cm
Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Madame de Pompadour was the official mistress of King Louis XV of France. She gained great influence and also advised the king on political issues. François Boucher presents her in an elaborately decorated afternoon dress and surrounded by books, correspondence, sheet music and drawings as a beautiful and educated woman – this is how the sitter, who commissioned the picture herself, wanted to be perceived. At the beginning of 1756 she had been appointed lady-in-waiting to the queen and had now achieved a recognized office at court. (APM)
See also:
• Pompadour, Madame de (1721-1764)