Madame de Pompadour (1721 - 1764). Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise of Pompadour, commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death. Pompadour took charge of the king's schedule and was a valued aide and advisor, despite her frail health and many political enemies. She secured titles of nobility for herself and her relatives, and built a network of clients and supporters. She was particularly careful not to alienate the Queen, Marie Leszczynska. On 8 February 1756, the Marquise de Pompadour was named as the thirteenth lady in waiting to the queen, a position considered the most prestigious at the court, which accorded her with honors. Pompadour was a major patroness of architecture and decorative arts, especially porcelain. She was a patroness of the philosophes of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire. Hostile critics at the time generally tarred her as a malevolent political influence, but historians are more favorable, emphasizing her successes as a patroness of the arts and a champion of French pride. Art historian Melissa Hyde argues that the critiques of Pompadour were driven by fears over the overturning of social and gender hierarchies that Pompadour's power and influence, as a woman who was not born into the aristocracy, represented. Jeanne Antoinette Poisson was born on 29 December 1721 in Paris to Francois Poisson and his wife Madeleine de La Motte. It is suspected that her biological father was either the rich financier Paris de Montmartel or the tax collector Le Normant de Tournehem. Le Normant de Tournehem became her legal guardian when Francois Poisson was forced to leave the country in 1725 after a scandal over a series of unpaid debts, a crime at that time punishable by death. At age 5 Jeanne Antoinette was sent to receive the finest quality education of the day in an Ursuline convent in Poissy, where she gained admiration for her wit and charm. Due to poor health, thought to be whooping cough, Jeanne Antoinette returned home in January 1730 at age 9. During this time her mother took her to a fortuneteller, Madame de Lebon, who predicted that the girl would one day reign over the heart of a King. Henceforth she became known as Reinette, meaning little queen, and was groomed to become the mistress of Louis XV. Tournehem arranged for Jeanne Antoinette to receive a private education at home with the best teachers of the day who taught her dancing, drawing, painting, engraving, theatre, the arts, and the ability to memorize entire plays. It may have been this sponsoring of Jeanne Antoinette's education in particular that sparked rumors of his paternity to Poisson. At the age of nineteen, Jeanne Antoinette was married to Charles Guillaume Le Normant d'Etiolles, the nephew of her guardian, Charles Le Normant de Tournehem, who initiated the match and the large financial incentives that came with it. On 15 December 1740, Tournehem made his nephew his sole heir, disinheriting all his other nephews and nieces, the children of his brother and sister. These included the estate at Etiolles, a wedding gift from her guardian, which was situated on the edge of the royal hunting ground of the forest of Senart. Once married, Le Normant d'Etiolles fell passionately in love with his wife, while she maintained that she would never leave him-except for the King. The couple had a son who died in infancy and a daughter, Alexandrine Le Normant d'Etiolles, born in 1744, who died at the age of nine. Jeanne Antoinette's marital status allowed her to frequent celebrated salons in Paris, such as those hosted by Mesdames de Tencin, Geoffin, du Deffand, and others. Within these salons she crossed paths with principal figures of the Enlightenment, including Voltaire, Charles Pinot Duclos, Montesquieu, Helvetius, and Bernard de Fontenelle. Additionally, Jeanne Antoinette created her own salon at Etiolles, which was attended by many of the cultural elite, among them were Crebillon fils, Montesquieu, the Cardinal de Bernis, and Voltaire. Within these circles she learned the fine art of conversation and developed the sharp wit for which she would later become known at Versailles. Due to her involvement in Paris salons as well as her grace and beauty, Louis XV had heard the name of Jeanne Antoinette mentioned at court as early as 1742. In 1744, Jeanne Antoinette sought to catch the eye of the King while he led the hunt in the forest of Senart. Because she occupied an estate near this location she was permitted to follow the royal party at a distance.