Madam de Pompadour

Its childhood

His/her official father is forced to leave the country in 1725 after a scandal and Jeanne is then adopted by her probable biological father, the financial rich person Charles François Paul Normalizing It of Tournehem, which becomes its legal guardian. She lives then with her mother, her sister and her brother Abel-François Poisson de Vandières.

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson marries in 1741 Charles-Guillaume Normalizing It of Étiolles, nephew of her tutor. The contemporaries regard it as rather beautiful with its small mouth and an oval figure animated by its promptness. Her young husband quickly becomes insane of it and it takes part in the circles society men of Paris. The couple settles in a castle placed at its disposal by Tournehem with Étiolles, or it made build a small theater and gave intimate representations. It gives rise to a son in 1741, which dies in low age, then a girl in 1744, fore-mentioned Alexandrine.

The mistress of the king

The Cardinal Fleury, which had all the confidence of the king and who directed the businesses of the kingdom personally, had died in 1743. The circle of influence which included/understood the Frères Paris, the Cardinal of Tencin, its sister the Marquise of Tencin and the Maréchal of Richelieu had an opportunity to position near Louis XV. , Who was very close to Paris, to like the young Jeanne-Antoinette the king appeared likely and to support this positioning. The stratagem set up functioned as discounted and bore its fruits 1745.

In February 1745, Jeanne-Antoinette is invited to a royal masked ball which celebrates the marriage of the son of the king. Noticed by the king, it becomes a regular visitor and Louis XV installs it with the Château of Versailles. In July, it makes him gift of the field of Pompadour, recently acquired by the Crown, thus creating it marchioness, then legally separates it from his/her husband. September 14th, it is officially submitted to the court. It is 23 years old.

In 1748, the marchioness acquires the Château of That, a few kilometres from Versailles.

In 1753, Louis XV bought the hotel of Évreux (more known today under the name of Elys3ee palace ) to make of it the Parisian residence of the marchioness of Pompadour.

In 1754, his/her only daughter Alexandrine, born from its first marriage, of which it had obtained the guard and that it raised since a such royal princess, contracted a acute Péritonite in the Parisian convent where it was educated. Madam de Pompadour, reserve in Versailles, were not present. When the news came from to him, Louis XV dispatched in urgency two of his personal doctors to the bedside of the child but they arrived too late. The Alexandrine young person, nine years old, had already succumbed. The marchioness, deeply affected, never recovered really from this drama.

To preserve its statute of mistress in title and its any power vis-a-vis the monarch it supported leaning it of the King for the all young girls. The most famous small victim was Marie-Louise O' Murphy de Boisfaily, at least at the 14 years age, whose king made immortaliser nudity by Boucher. It is Pompadour far from concerned of morality as of ethics which with final will never include/understand humanism, art, the policy like the religion.

During its " règne" from twenty years, it maintains relations cordial with the queen, making honor in its condition. Mrs. de Pompadour also handles all the files of the king with her ministers, making come those in her apartments.

She supports the career of the cardinal of Bernis and the duke of Choiseul and wishes the swing of alliances of Prussia towards Austria which involves the Guerre Seven Year old, concluded by the demolished from Rossbach and the loss of the Canada. The legend wants that the marchioness, to comfort the very affected king by the rout of Rossbach, would have exhorted it not to afflict in addition to-measurement, conclusive by these words: " with the remainder, after us, the flood ".

Exhausted by twenty years of life at the court, it dies out in Versailles the April 15th 1764, at the 43 years age. It is told that by seeing the bad weather when the coffin of Madam de Pompadour left Versailles for Paris, Louis XV would have made this cynical remark: " the marchioness will not have good weather for its voyage ".

Its passions

That Ci was particularly favorable to the philosophers and the intellectual party legitimately to try to put forward itself. The writers thus could have relative freedom to spread ideas protestors by speaking in praise of the English political system and by preaching a monarchy " éclairée". It did not prevent, for example, the publication of the first two volumes of the Encyclopedia of Diderot however condemned by the Parliament of Paris.

Arts

The marchioness of Pompadour was always made represent by portraits delivers in hand, beside a sphere or dividing into sheets a partition of music… She thus encouraged the continuation of the Encyclopedia of Diderot which faced a big number of detractors. She made work of many craftsmen and allowed the refitting of the porcelain factory of Sevres. She was favorable to the construction of monuments like the Place Louis XV (current Place of the Harmony) and the Petit Trianon. She also took part in the project of financing for the realization of the military academy at the sides of her friend Joseph Paris Duverney. Personally, she learned how to dance, engrave and play of the guitar.

She often ordered portraits with the painters Boucher and van Loo. She encouraged a great number of artists like the painter Nattier, the engraver Cochin, the cabinetmaker Oeben, the sculptor Pigalle or the writer the Place.

Castles

She had the castles and following residences:

Castle of Pompadour in Corrèze, sold in 1760
Castle of Montretout (called Tretout) with Saint-Cloud until in 1748
Castle of That or Small Castle with That Saint-Cloud of 1748 to 1750
Castle of Bellevue to Meudon which it made build and completed in 1750
Hôtel of Évreux (current Elys3ee palace)
Château of Menars (Loir-et-Cher)
Château of Champs-sur-Marne in 1757, Madam de Pompadour becomes tenant of Fields, it will remain eighteen months there.

In 1762, under the impulse of the marchioness, Louis XV ordered the construction of new Trianon in the park of Versailles. Madam de Pompadour surpervisa itself plans and construction of what was going to become the Petit Trianon and was to be its future residence at the court. But its death in 1764 did not enable him to achêvement attend achêvement its work and it was the favorite news of the king, Madam of Barry, which inaugurated it at its sides and settled there.

Chocolate

The legend wants that the marchioness of Pompadour had a passion for the soup of truffles and sprinkled celeries of ambrées chocolate cups “overheating the spirits and passions”.

Champagne

Large amatrice of Champagne, of which she would have said, according to the legend, which it is " the only wine which leaves the beautiful woman after drinking " , it supported its consumption with Versailles (it had been introduced at the Court under Regency).

Descent

Of her husband, Charles-Guillaume Normalizing It of Étiolles, it had only one girl, Alexandrine, died at the nine years age of a acute Péritonite and a son died in low age. The marchioness never had other children. Of its connection with the King, it had only miscarriages between 1746 and 1749. Normalizing, on the other hand, lived in cohabitation with a dancer whom he once married become widowed of the marchioness. The whole family was imprisoned under Terror. Charles-Guillaume was then 74 years old.

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