Portrait of Madame de Pompadour, Francois Boucher 1756

Madame de Pompadour was an exquisite badass. She was thoroughly educated in the arts from a very young age and, above all else, strove for greatness. Yes, she won the heart of Louis XV and became his official mistress, but she also worked hard to ensure that her title was not just for show. Voltaire (yes, that Voltaire) was her courtly advisor and confidante, and she also endeared herself to her master’s wife (who famously remarked “If my husband must have a mistress, better her than any other.”) Louis XV entrusted her with highly delicate matters of state and the military, and she proved herself to be of sound judgment and discreteness. Madame de Pompadour was both exquisitely beautiful and impressively intelligent, and elevated herself far beyond the status of “the King’s mistress.”

This official portrait, by Francois Boucher, was painted to commemorate the announcement of her official title of the Queen’s Lady in Waiting.