Marquise De Pompadour Research Paper

Merriam Webster defines a pompadour as “a woman 's style of hairdressing in which the hair is brushed into a loose full roll around the face.” ("Pompadour," ) This look is achieved through lots of backcombing and product that ensures that hair stands in place. Once upon a time, women used bear grease, a processed beef fat called tallow, and other grease based products (Riggs, 2007). Women even used tubes of their collected hair called “rats” in order to support their coifs. Today the look is maintained with the use of hair putties, waxes, sprays, and glues. There are even plastic inserts, designed to give hair even more height ("Bumpits," ). In 1745 Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, a French commoner became the official mistress to the king of France (Abbott, 2010). Before she could be officially introduced at court, she had to have a title. King Louis XIV bought for her the marquisate of Pompadour, giving her the title of Marquise de Pompadour. Mdm. Pompadour wore her hair tall and pushed back from her face, a look that will forever be associated with her namesake. In April of 1770, Marie Antoinette became queen of France. As part of her effort to align herself with France in the eyes of her people, she adapted a style of dress that screamed …show more content…
She’s adorned in miles of the finest fabrics, delicate laces, and a million bows. Her dress is trimmed with gold. There isn’t a thing about it that doesn’t proclaim regal grace and beauty. The queen’s hair is the finishing piece. It’s tall, decorated with exquisite feathers and what were probably France’s finest pearls. This 1778 painting was done by Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, one of the most important female painters of the 18th century (Rafter, 2005). After having been summoned to Versailles to be the royal painter, she actually befriended the queen and painted her more than 30 times over the next ten