Society just loves an intrigue and coffee more than tea had a great impact upon social gatherings among the French aristocracy in the 18th century. Less candor and more tittle-tattle would become the difference between the age of Tea and the age of Coffee. But a few years before; a social gathering over a prized collection of tea would have sufficed as the civil thing to do in an age where social congregation was a very important part of the cultural life of the French nobility. Yet, the ceremony of tea would become replaced by the more exciting aromas of a decent brew of coffee. A social world would not be a world without surprise and with the new inspiration of coffee to swell the imaginations at the court of the French Kings, society would grow even more alive with attentive whispers at every corner. In such guise, we enter the social swirl of 18th century France and in particular the world of the French socialite Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, or La Marquise de Pompadour.
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| Madame de Pompadour at her dressing table - 1750 François Boucher |
Born 29th December 1721 and died in 1764 her life was ever surrounded by controversy as the beautiful child quickly became the youthful paramour of Parisian society. Although her birth records in Paris state that her family was of bourgeois origins, the father being François Poisson and mother Madeleine de La Mott, society in pursuit of gossip, would often hint at a scandal even at birth with the assumption that the real father was none other than the rich financier Pâris de Montmartel. Known as Reinette or 'little queen' the young girl became an accomplished beauty with a precocious appetite for attracting men of great esteem. Moreover, at the age of 9 years, a fortune teller foretold that the little girl would one day reign over the heart of a king.
After an early convent upbringing, at the age of 19 years, the young Jeanne Antoinette married Charles Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles, the rich nephew of her guardian. With this marriage, the young Madame d'Étiolless had two children, one of which died only a year after birth. Soon after the conception of her 2 children she founded her very own salon close to Paris in the south at Étiolles, where her social gatherings were graced by many intellectuals of the day such as the notorious coffee drinker and writer-philosopher Voltaire himself.
At the age of 24 years, in 1745 destiny would play it's role as fate would decree that the little beauty would meet the very King Louis XV that would fulfill the fortune teller's prediction. The King had already heard of her reputation as a beauty with her childish oval face and invited her to a masked ball known as the 'Yew Tree Ball' in 1745 in Paris. The French King was so over-whelmed by the beauty of La Reinette that as soon as she was presented formally at court to the King she was emphatically endowed with the Marquisate de Pompadour and by the King's own personal purchase and provided with luscious apartments within the Versailles itself just so that the King could be near to the woman he loved so much. La Reinette had now effectively become the most powerful woman in all France and perhaps Europe as maitresse-en-titre to King of France Louis XV. Their relationship was deeply affectionate but as mistress to the French King her love could never find fulfillment due to several miscarriages. Eventually La Reinette married and did have a daughter, Alexandrine, who was adored by the powerful French King Louis XV.
In addition to her immense political influence by connection with the King, the Marquise de Pompadour is also largely remembered as a patron of the arts and literature in France. With her growing wealth came a series of property acquisitions such as houses and estate mansions like the Hotel d'Evreux which she renovated with such artistic flair that a style of interior decoration came into vogue as the 'Pompadour style' of interior design. She also became the patron of many aspiring artists such as painters, sculptors, and architects. The emphatic 'Pompadour style' not only encompassed the arts and architecture but extended to every manner of personal attire from head pieces to cloth to strands as the women of her day would vie with each other to dress and emulate the styles of atttire that the Marquise de Pompadour would display at court and in public.
Madam de Pompadour was one of the most influential ladies of the 18th century France. Society was fascinated by her wit and charm. La Reinette very quickly became the most sought-after woman in Europe for the subject of portrait painting in her day. endowed with natural beauty and intellect such delicate balance and grace in her salon and soirée brought about great political, social and economic discourse. Coffee in the 18th century was by now becoming the beverage of choice at a social gathering. Unlike tea, coffee brought out the good-humored spirit required for a relaxing social conversation. Chocolate was also being introduced into the French court at this time particularly in royal banquets but was even more expensive as a commodity than coffee. Tea drinking at gatherings was the vogue of the 17th century. In the early 18th century coffee became more popular than tea but was still deemed a luxury commodity as it was sparsely cultivated and it's price beyond the reach of the common man. Moreover coffee had a great mystique about it and became associated in the French public imagination with exotic images of Cairo and Istanbul and the Turkish and Armenian cultures in particular. Wine drinking was inappropriate during the 18th century; thus the stimulation of the coffee beverage was deemed to be entirely delectable and appropriate for evening gatherings over music and discourse. Where the actual favor for coffee originated from can be traced to the trade routes that had opened up with the Venetian and Dutch traders and a growing interest in the Eastern cultures and grandiose lifestyles.
After an early convent upbringing, at the age of 19 years, the young Jeanne Antoinette married Charles Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles, the rich nephew of her guardian. With this marriage, the young Madame d'Étiolless had two children, one of which died only a year after birth. Soon after the conception of her 2 children she founded her very own salon close to Paris in the south at Étiolles, where her social gatherings were graced by many intellectuals of the day such as the notorious coffee drinker and writer-philosopher Voltaire himself.
At the age of 24 years, in 1745 destiny would play it's role as fate would decree that the little beauty would meet the very King Louis XV that would fulfill the fortune teller's prediction. The King had already heard of her reputation as a beauty with her childish oval face and invited her to a masked ball known as the 'Yew Tree Ball' in 1745 in Paris. The French King was so over-whelmed by the beauty of La Reinette that as soon as she was presented formally at court to the King she was emphatically endowed with the Marquisate de Pompadour and by the King's own personal purchase and provided with luscious apartments within the Versailles itself just so that the King could be near to the woman he loved so much. La Reinette had now effectively become the most powerful woman in all France and perhaps Europe as maitresse-en-titre to King of France Louis XV. Their relationship was deeply affectionate but as mistress to the French King her love could never find fulfillment due to several miscarriages. Eventually La Reinette married and did have a daughter, Alexandrine, who was adored by the powerful French King Louis XV.
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| Madame de Pompadour as Diana - 1752 Jean Marc Nattier |
In addition to her immense political influence by connection with the King, the Marquise de Pompadour is also largely remembered as a patron of the arts and literature in France. With her growing wealth came a series of property acquisitions such as houses and estate mansions like the Hotel d'Evreux which she renovated with such artistic flair that a style of interior decoration came into vogue as the 'Pompadour style' of interior design. She also became the patron of many aspiring artists such as painters, sculptors, and architects. The emphatic 'Pompadour style' not only encompassed the arts and architecture but extended to every manner of personal attire from head pieces to cloth to strands as the women of her day would vie with each other to dress and emulate the styles of atttire that the Marquise de Pompadour would display at court and in public.
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| Madame de Pompadour -1755 Maurice Quentin de La Tour |
Madam de Pompadour was one of the most influential ladies of the 18th century France. Society was fascinated by her wit and charm. La Reinette very quickly became the most sought-after woman in Europe for the subject of portrait painting in her day. endowed with natural beauty and intellect such delicate balance and grace in her salon and soirée brought about great political, social and economic discourse. Coffee in the 18th century was by now becoming the beverage of choice at a social gathering. Unlike tea, coffee brought out the good-humored spirit required for a relaxing social conversation. Chocolate was also being introduced into the French court at this time particularly in royal banquets but was even more expensive as a commodity than coffee. Tea drinking at gatherings was the vogue of the 17th century. In the early 18th century coffee became more popular than tea but was still deemed a luxury commodity as it was sparsely cultivated and it's price beyond the reach of the common man. Moreover coffee had a great mystique about it and became associated in the French public imagination with exotic images of Cairo and Istanbul and the Turkish and Armenian cultures in particular. Wine drinking was inappropriate during the 18th century; thus the stimulation of the coffee beverage was deemed to be entirely delectable and appropriate for evening gatherings over music and discourse. Where the actual favor for coffee originated from can be traced to the trade routes that had opened up with the Venetian and Dutch traders and a growing interest in the Eastern cultures and grandiose lifestyles.
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| Madam de Pompadour - 1756 François Boucher |
The Venetians having firmly established the trade routes with the Ottoman empire in the 16th century, the cultural exchange between the Venetian state and the Turkish culture led to an exchange of cultural ideas and the spread of Turkish culture to the educated elements of society in Western Europe. The arrival of the coffee beverage in Western Europe aroused a keen intellectual interest for Ottoman culture and by the time of Madam de Pompadour in the 18th century that keen interest found its manner of expression in art through the depiction of European nobility in Turkish guises. The painting below by Charles Andre van Loo in 1752 is considered to be one of the first paintings in 18th century France demonstrating the cultural contact of French European civilization with that of North Africa with Madame de Pompadour dressed in Armenian guise being served by a maid of North African descent. The French aristocracy already set within an age of self-indulgence was now fully open to imbibe and embrace the new and exciting cultural imagery of exotic experiences as depicted in this imaginary scene below.
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| Madame de Pompadour as a Sultana being served coffee - 1752 Charles Andre van Loo |
Coffee has already caught the imagination of King Louis XV who insisted that the coffee been be grown in the French colonies to serve the growing demand for the luxury commodity. Moreover, less than a decade after the death of the beloved French King coffee cultivation finally took it's successful root in the French colony of Martinique. During the evening soirées at Versailles arranged by Madame Pompadour, the King was insistent that decent coffee should be served as well as the finest wines and liqueurs that could be elegantly displayed in choice array upon the finest tables.
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| Drawing Room at Palace of Versailles where soirées would have been held. |
In her final years as mistress to the King their friendship never waned but grew over the years. In fact, in speaking of Madame de Pompadour another notable mistress Marie Leszczyńska, daughter of King Stanisław I of Poland, had even gone as far as saying "If there must be a mistress, better her than any other." Such was the adoration La Reinette received. King XV had remained a true friend through the years, and is even said to have personally brewed coffee for his little Reinette in his private chambers in moments where the King could always share his confidence and listen attentively to the wisdom of the woman he adored but could never marry.
Madame de Pompadour succumbed to tuberculosis and passed away in 1764 at the age of only 42 years.
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| Madame de Pompadour as Love and Friendship - 1758 Jean-Baptiste Pigalle |
Coffee and it's social history by Pieter Bergli
For those of my readers that have a penchant for art babble then kindly grab a cup of decent coffee and turn to:
Thank you.
