Madame de Pompadour: Images of a Mistress

by Colin Jones

Book by Jones, Colin

Genres: History, Art, France, Fashion

160 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Emilija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very good book. It goes into detail concerning Madame de Pompadour and her life, her role at court and the implications of the different portraits commissioned by her or of her; the use they served her at court or with Louis XV.

[GBL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colin Jones explores the life of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV of France, through the works of art connected to her.

Madame de Pompadour was a significant figure at the court of Louis XV, with both personal and political power; using art to project a vision of herself to the people around her and to the French public. The major portraits reflect the ideas she wanted connected with her eg the Boucher portrait of 1756 shows her reading, reflecting her desire to be recognised as a ‘femme savante’.

Colin Jones has written a detail and thoughtful critique of the art linked to de Pompadour. The book is well illustrated and Jones succeeds in linking the art to the political and social context of France under Louis XV.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published to coincide with a National Gallery exhibition in 2002, it presents a clear overview of the career of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV. Pompadour was a great patron of the arts, and wielded considerable political power at the court of Versailles during the 1740s and 50s. This book focuses on the numerous paintings and sculptures she commissioned in her own image, and how she wished to be perceived both by the king and court.

[Phil Syphe · Rating 2 out of 5]

In contrast to a biography where I expect mostly text with photo inserts, I expect a photobook to be packed with pictures accompanied by brief explanatory text.

Here, we have much text and few images, which wouldn’t be so bad if the writing was less dry, as I am interested in Madame de Pompadour’s history, which I’ve read in other titles.

Also, a lot of the portraits are not of Madame. In fact, the final image in the book is of Madame du Barry, which is an off-topic way to end a photobook of Madame de Pompadour.

In short, I’m disappointed.