January 10, 2010

THE JUX BOX: Boucher, la Tour et de Pompadour

I got addicted to the idea of juxtaposing art and decor (and everything else considerably) after finding Whistler's Peacock Room. I soon stumbled to another blue green room, in a painting called "La dejeuner"  by François Boucher, one of the front runners of the French - Rococo decorative art. Ah, even the artworld agreed in giving breakfast a very special place,  most important meal of the day indeed. (Check these brekkie-titled paintings from my favorite Impressionists here, here, and here)

Francois_Boucher-Le_dejeuner

And this painting brought me straight to the splendour of Madame de Pompadour, his patroness.

pompadour by boucher
I have a suspicion that she fancied the color teal too. Somewhat confirmed by another portrait of her by Maurice Quentin de La Tour.

pompadour by atour
Jeanne Antoinette-Poisson, better known as Marquise de Pompadour, was official maîtresse-en-titre of Louis XV. Mistresses often depicted as mischievous mindless materialistic sex kittens. Whomever you might be Miss Thang, this Madame would definitely double- kick thy derriere.
As if her beauty was not sufficient to simply bewitch any beholder, she was also brainy, brave, and blissfully talented. Her considerably petite physique sure packed punches. It seemed that she was well-aware of her power and lived up to her full potential. She was an actress, singer, art patron, gallery owner, interior designer, local industry promoter, fashionista, encyclopedia endorser, book publisher,  and lots more, she even knew Voltaire well before he got famous. And she managed to do all of those in her rather brief life of 40 years. Wiki more and weep.

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