Marquess of POMPADOUR (December 29; 1721 - April 15; 1764); born Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson. Daughter of a financier in the service of the powerful P鈘is and quartermaster of the Duke of Orleans; was married in 1741 to the treasurer general of the Mint Charles Guillaume Le Normant d'蓆iolles; a marriage that opened the way to the best salons frequented by nobles and intellectuals and to court life; but he had only to be noticed to become the official lover of Louis XV. Her favor with the king; which lasted 20 years; gave her the opportunity to exercise an influential role in cultural orientation and in domestic and foreign politics. Portrait of an embroidery frame; lithograph from a painting by Fran鏾is-Hubert Drouais; France; 19th century