Boucher, François (1703-1770)
Portrait de Madame de Pompadour (Portrait of Madame Pompadour)
1758
Oil on canvas, 57.8 × 52.4 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
François Boucher (1703-1770) was born in Paris and probably received his first artistic training from his father who was a painter before attending the Académie de France in Rome. He may also have travelled to Naples, Venice and Bologna. Around 1731 Boucher returned to Paris where he rapidly gained the royal favour and interest from the private collectors. He was a very prolific artist and produced a wide range of artworks from pastoral paintings, porcelain and tapestry designs as well as stage designs influencing deeply the new Rococo movement.
This painting is a fine example of the dominant Rococo style in 18th-century France. It depicts the Marquise de Pompadour who became in 1745 the favourite mistress of King Louis XV. She is portrayed in a garden or edges of woods wearing a sumptuous white silk dress which blends in with the ochre green of the vegetation around. This picture is characterised by the combination of a subtle artificiality and sufficient naturalism, which is a typical feature of the Rococo aesthetic. This painting is a good example of how Boucher was probably made to celebrate and consolidate the Marquise’s new status as well as exalting her renowned beauty. (V&A)
See also:
• Pompadour, Madame de (1721-1764)