Madame de Pompadour: Images of a Mistress

Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, was one of the most powerful women of her era. Born in 1721 in a relatively humble milieu to a father whose identity has never been confirmed, she married a man who was possibly her cousin. At the age of 24, through her own intelligence and beauty as well as the scheming of her relatives, she became the official mistress of Louis XV of France. Even though their physical relationship ended after five or six years, she remained the King's confidante and companion until her death in 1764. She amassed both great wealth, which she lavished on the decoration of various chateaux, and enormous power with which she promoted those who pleased her and demoted, or had imprisoned, those who did not. In the process she attracted both admiration and vicious criticism, in France and abroad.