Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, French: [pɔ̃paduʁ] ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death.
Pompadour took charge of the king's schedule and was a valued aide and advisor, despite her frail health and many political enemies. She secured titles of nobility for herself and her relatives, and built a network of clients and supporters. She was particularly careful not to alienate the popular Queen, Marie Leszczyńska. On 8 February 1756, the Marquise de Pompadour was named as the thirteenth lady-in-waiting to the queen, a position considered the most prestigious at the court, which accorded her honors.
Pompadour was a major patron of architecture and decorative arts, especially porcelain. She was a patron of the philosophes of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire.
Hostile critics at the time generally tarred her as a malevolent political influence, but historians are more favorable, emphasizing her successes as a patron of the arts and a champion of French pride. Modern historians suggest that the critics of Pompadour were driven by fears over the overturning of the existing hierarchies that Pompadour's power and influence represented, as a woman who was not born into the aristocracy.
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson was born on 29 December 1721 in Paris to François Poisson (1684–1754) and his wife Madeleine de La Motte (1699–1745). Her father François Poisson was the youngest of nine children in the family of a weaver Claude Poisson (1631–1694) and his wife Marie Maranjé (1637–1707). Poisson was steward to the Paris brothers, the men primarily responsible for financing the French economy at the time. It is suspected that her biological father was either the rich financier Jean Pâris de Monmartel or the tax collector (fermier général) Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem. Le Normant de Tournehem became her legal guardian when François Poisson was forced to leave the country in 1725 after a scandal over a series of unpaid debts. Such a crime at that time was punishable by death; however, he was cleared eight years later and allowed to return to France.
At the age of five, Jeanne Antoinette was sent to receive the finest quality education of the day in an Ursuline convent in Poissy, where she gained admiration for her wit and charm. Due to poor health, thought to be whooping cough, Jeanne Antoinette returned home in January 1730, aged 9. Madeleine refused to allow this to prevent her daughter from becoming a highly educated and accomplished young lady, enrolling Jeanne Antoinette in private tutoring upon her return to Paris. Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem took charge of the child's education, sparing no expense. Jeanne-Antoinette was "coached in elocution by an actor from the Comedie Francaise and the dramatist Crebillon. The opera singer Jélyotte taught her to sing", along with extensive education in the humanities, fine arts, music, and social finery. During this time, her mother took her to a fortuneteller, Madame de Lebon, who predicted that the girl would one day reign over the heart of a king. Pompadour left the fortuneteller 600 livres in her will, for correctly predicting the impossible.
At the age of 20, Jeanne Antoinette was married to Charles Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles (1717–1799), the nephew of her guardian Charles Le Normant de Tournehem, who initiated the match and the large financial incentives that came with it. On 15 December 1740, Tournehem made his nephew his sole heir, disinheriting all his other nephews and nieces: the children of his brother and sister. These included the estate at Étiolles, a wedding gift from her guardian, which was situated on the edge of the royal hunting ground of the forest of Sénart. When she was married aged 20, she was already somewhat famous throughout the salons of Paris for her beauty, intelligence, and abundance of charm. Though initially displeased with their marriage arrangement, Le Normant d’Etioles was said to have swiftly fallen in love with Jeanne. Their marriage gave both parties something they desperately needed: Le Normant d'Etioles received "an enormous dowry" that lifted him from relative poverty. Jeanne-Antoinette "gained a level of respectability that overshadowed her mother's dubious past".
Once married, the couple seemed very much in love: Jeanne Antoinette would often joke that she would never leave Le Normant d’Etioles for anyone – except, of course, the king. The couple had a son who died in infancy and a daughter, Alexandrine Le Normant d'Étiolles born in 1744, who died at the age of nine.
As a married woman, Jeanne Antoinette could frequent celebrated salons in Paris, such as those hosted by Mesdames de Tencin, Geoffrin, du Deffand and others. Within these salons she crossed paths with principal figures of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire, Charles Pinot Duclos, Montesquieu, Helvétius, and Bernard de Fontenelle. Additionally, Jeanne Antoinette created her own salon at Étiolles, which was attended by many of the cultural elite, among them were Crébillon fils, Montesquieu, the Cardinal de Bernis, and Voltaire. Within these circles she learned the fine art of conversation and developed the sharp wit for which she would later become known at Versailles.
Due to her involvement in Paris salons as well as her grace and beauty, Louis XV had heard the name of Jeanne Antoinette mentioned at court as early as 1742. In 1744, Jeanne Antoinette sought to catch the eye of the King while he led the hunt in the forest of Sénart. Because she occupied an estate near this location, she was permitted to follow the royal party at a distance. However, wanting to attract the King's notice, Jeanne Antoinette drove directly in front of the King's path, once in a pink phaeton, wearing a blue dress, and once in a blue phaeton, wearing a pink dress. The King sent a gift of venison to her. Though the King's current mistress Maria Anne de Mailly, named Madame de Châteauroux, had warned off Jeanne Antoinette, the position became vacant on 8 December 1744 when Châteauroux died. On 24 February 1745, Jeanne Antoinette received a formal invitation to attend the masked ball held on 25 February at the Palace of Versailles to celebrate the marriage of the Dauphin Louis of France to Infanta Maria Teresa of Spain. It was at this ball that the King, disguised along with seven courtiers as yew trees, publicly declared his affection for Jeanne Antoinette. Before all of court and the royal family, Louis unmasked himself before Jeanne Antoinette, who was dressed as Diana the Huntress in reference to their encounter in the forest of Sénart.
By March, she was the King's mistress, installed at Versailles in an apartment directly above his. On 7 May, the official separation between her and her husband was pronounced. To be presented at court, she required a title. The King purchased the marquisate of Pompadour on 24 June and gave the estate, with title and coat-of-arms, to Jeanne Antoinette, making her a Marquise. On 14 September 1745, Madame de Pompadour made her formal entry before the King, presented by the King's cousin, the Princess of Conti. Determined to make her place at court secure, Jeanne Antoinette immediately attempted to forge a good relationship with the royal family. After the Queen engaged Pompadour in a conversation by enquiring after a mutual acquaintance, Madame de Saissac, Pompadour responded in delight, swearing her respect and loyalty to Marie Leszczyńska. The Queen in return favored Jeanne Antoinette instead of the King's other mistresses. Pompadour quickly mastered the highly mannered court etiquette. However, her mother died on Christmas Day of the same year, and did not live to see her daughter's achievement of becoming the undisputed royal mistress.
Through her position as court favourite, Pompadour wielded considerable power and influence. She was elevated on 12 October 1752 to duchess and in 1756 to lady-in-waiting to the Queen, the most noble rank possible for a woman at court. Pompadour effectively played the role of prime minister, becoming responsible for appointing advancements, favors and dismissals, and contributing in domestic and foreign politics.