BOUCHER, François
(b. 1703, Paris, d. 1770, Paris)

Portrait of Marquise de Pompadour

1759
Oil on canvas, 91 x 68 cm
Wallace Collection, London

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson (1721-1764) became marquise de Pompadour and maitresse en titre to Louis XV in 1745. Her lavish patronage of the arts, in particular of the Sèvres porcelain factory and of Boucher, sustained the French Rococo style. Behind her in this portrait stands the sculpture of Love and Friendship which she had commissioned from Pigalle to symbolize her later, platonic relationship with the King.

The painting was commissioned from the artist in 1758 for the Bellevue Castle.