Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, was Louis XV's favorite for nearly twenty years.
Her passion for culture pushed her to invest in architecture.
Parisians owe him, in particular, the creation of our current Panthéon, the Théâtre de l'Odéon and the Place de la Concorde.
She also contributed to the development and European influence of Sèvres porcelain, which invented the Pompadour rose to pay homage to its benefactress.
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Her cultural actions demonstrate that her record of longevity as a favorite rested less on her "horizontal" talents than on her ability to entertain the sovereign.
The great-grandson of the Sun King is indeed a depressive in need of constant pleasures and easy enjoyments.
To occupy her evenings, the marquise founded a theater company in Versailles: the Théâtre des Petits Cabinets, a name inherited from its original location in the small apartments of Louis XV.
Strict regulations
La Pompadour takes her troupe seriously.
The actors are all courtiers eager to enter the good graces of this ennobled bourgeoise, who reigns over the king's heart.
The honorary title of director is entrusted to the Duke of La Vallière, a descendant of a bastard of Louis XIV.
However, he makes no decision, because the Théâtre des Petits Cabinets is in the hands of women!
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King Louis XV (1710-1774) and his favorite Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (1721-1764) surrounded by his courtiers circa 1748. The Holbarn Archive/Bridgeman Images
To join the troupe, the members must sign a strict regulation written by the favorite, whose article VII stipulates that "only the actresses will enjoy the right to choose the works that the troupe must represent".
In a very skilful way, Madame de Pompadour gives herself full powers without demanding them, since no man can contest her decisions and no woman would dare to do so.
The troupe is completed by professional musicians playing the violin, viol and flute.
Only a few enlightened amateurs have the right to join this elite musical corps, such as the Prince of Dombes, the son of the Duke of Maine, legitimized bastard of Louis XIV... Definitely, the company is that of the revenge of the ill-born of the court !
Spectacular success
For four seasons, the Pompadour put on fashionable pieces, in which she played the leading role.
She plays perfectly, sings like an angel and dances with grace.
Louis XV applauded him fervently, his eyes shining with admiration.
Soon, all the courtiers who booed "the Fish" dream of receiving an invitation to his private parties from his white hands.
The success of the company commits the king to finance a new removable theater with machinery in the staircase of the ambassadors.
The courtiers refused to the shows, jealous of the success of a bourgeoise, mingle their venom with the ink of their defamatory pamphlets: the Pompadour is accused of emptying the coffers of the State.
To silence the gossip, the fifth season takes place at the castle of Bellevue, in Meudon, property of the favorite.
But it is still the king who finances these representations which have become even more exclusive, to the despair of the ugly Versailles tongues which have never managed to kill the meaning of the celebration of the beautiful Marquise.
*Virginie Girod has a doctorate in history.
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