Madame De Pompadour (detail) 1751

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle carved this marble bust of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV, in France. As a royal mistress, Madame de Pompadour occupied a unique place within the French court and became a prominent patron of the arts. Pigalle himself received many commissions from the royal court and the aristocracy. While portrait busts were common, their subjects were usually male. In a patriarchal society, art institutions promoted an image of male intellectual authority. By creating a portrait of a woman, Pigalle's sculpture challenged those traditions. To understand this artwork better, we need to look at the visual codes of portraiture, the culture of the French court, and the politics of the Enlightenment. Close attention to historical context allows us to consider the role of art in reflecting and shaping social structures.