Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764)

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

1748–51 · White marble (Sost, the French Pyrenees) · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The portrait was completed in 1751 when Madame de Pompadour was thirty years old. It was probably meant for her residence château de Bellevue, which was finished the same year. She chose the stone for the bust, a hard and brittle marble, with the intention of promoting the use of local French materials. This piece was the first to be made of the white marble from the newly discovered quarry of Sost in the French Pyrenees.

Artist

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle

Date

1748–51

Medium

White marble (Sost, the French Pyrenees)

Culture

French, Paris

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

The Jules Bache Collection, 1949