François-Hubert Drouais, 'Madame de Pompadour', 1763-4.
London, The National Gallery.

Madame de Pompadour: Images of a Mistress

16 October 2002 - 12 January 2003
Sainsbury Wing Admission charge

Sponsored by ExxonMobil

Madame de Pompadour rose from modest beginnings to become Louis XV's acknowledged mistress and one of the most powerful women of 18th-century France. Attractive, educated, highly intelligent and a lavish patron at a time when France dominated the European artistic scene, she employed the best of her country's artists to depict her and to embellish her various residences. The exhibition explored how Madame de Pompadour created an image of herself for social and political reasons against a background of increasing domestic and international tensions. It included paintings, sculpture, porcelain, furniture, gems and prints. Among the exhibits were Boucher's stunning portrait of Madame de Pompadour of 1756 from Munich, Carle Vanloo's portrait of her in oriental dress from St. Petersburg, Greuze's 'La Simplicité' from Fort Worth, and one of her writing-desks from Versailles complete with a secret compartment. The exhibition was organised in collaboration with the Réunion des Musées Nationaux, the Musée des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon and the Kunsthalle, Munich.

Exhibition Catalogue

Exhibition Video

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