the pleasures of the senses was ever my
his clients an irresistible
principal aim in life. Knowing that I was personally calcu-
product: a stylish and
lated to please the fair sex, I always strove to make myself
flattering portrait by a
famous artist who was
agreeable to it.
himself a certified celebrity.
—CASANOVA
Conferring an alluring star
presence upon even the
most celebrated of faces, he
transformed his subjects
The Beauty Ideal
into glamorous apparitions,
presenting their faces as he
thought they wanted to be
In 1730, when Jeanne Poisson was a mere nine years old, a fortune-teller seen and remembered. By predicted that one day she would be the mistress of Louis XV. The pre- filtering his sitters' good diction was quite ridiculous, since Jeanne came from the middle class, and features through his silkscreens and
it was a tradition stretching back for centuries that the king's mistress be exaggerating their vivacity, chosen from among the nobility. To make matters worse, Jeanne's father he enabled them to gain
was a notorious rake, and her mother had been a courtesan.
entree to a more mythic
and rarefied level of
Fortunately for Jeanne, one of her mother's lovers was a man of great existence. The possession
wealth who took a liking to the pretty girl and paid for her education. of great wealth and power
Jeanne learned to sing, to play the clavichord, to ride with uncommon skill, might do for everyday life,
to act and dance; she was schooled in literature and history as if she were a but the commissioning of a
portrait by Warhol was a
boy. The playwright Crébillon instructed her in the art of conversation. 34 • The Art of Seduction
sure indication that the
On top of it all, Jeanne was beautiful, and had a charm and grace that set sitter intended to secure a
her apart early on. In 1741, she married a man of the lower nobility. Now posthumous fame as well.
known as Madame d'Etioles, she could realize a great ambition: she opened Warhol's portraits were not
so much realistic documents
a literary salon. All of the great writers and philosophers of the time fre of contemporary faces as quented the salon, many because they were enamored of the hostess. One they were designer icons
of these was Voltaire, who became a lifelong friend.
awaiting future devotions.
Through all Jeanne's success, she never forgot the fortune-teller's pre— D A V I D B O U R D O N , WARHOL
diction, and still believed that she would one day conquer the king's heart. It happened that one of her husband's country estates bordered on King Louis's favorite hunting grounds. She would spy on him through the fence, Women have served all
or find ways to cross his path, always while she happened to be wearing an these centuries as looking
glasses possessing the magic elegant, yet fetching outfit. Soon the king was sending her gifts of game. and delicious power of When his official mistress died, in 1744, all of the court beauties vied to reflecting the figure of a
take her place; but he began to spend more and more time with Madame man at twice its natural
size.
d'Etioles, dazzled by her beauty and charm. To the astonishment of the
— V I R G I N I A WOOLF, A ROOM
court, that same year he made this middle-class woman his official mistress, OF ONE'S OWN
ennobling her with the title of the Marquise de Pompadour.
The king's need for novelty was notorious: a mistress would beguile him with her looks, but he would soon grow bored with her and find
someone else. After the shock of his choice of Jeanne Poisson wore off, the courtiers reassured themselves that it could not last—that he had only chosen her for the novelty of having a middle-class mistress. Little did they know that Jeanne s first seduction of the king was not the last seduction she had in mind.
As time went by, the king found himself visiting his mistress more and more often. As he ascended the hidden stair that led from his quarters to hers in the
his clients an irresistible
principal aim in life. Knowing that I was personally calcu-
product: a stylish and
lated to please the fair sex, I always strove to make myself
flattering portrait by a
famous artist who was
agreeable to it.
himself a certified celebrity.
—CASANOVA
Conferring an alluring star
presence upon even the
most celebrated of faces, he
transformed his subjects
The Beauty Ideal
into glamorous apparitions,
presenting their faces as he
thought they wanted to be
In 1730, when Jeanne Poisson was a mere nine years old, a fortune-teller seen and remembered. By predicted that one day she would be the mistress of Louis XV. The pre- filtering his sitters' good diction was quite ridiculous, since Jeanne came from the middle class, and features through his silkscreens and
it was a tradition stretching back for centuries that the king's mistress be exaggerating their vivacity, chosen from among the nobility. To make matters worse, Jeanne's father he enabled them to gain
was a notorious rake, and her mother had been a courtesan.
entree to a more mythic
and rarefied level of
Fortunately for Jeanne, one of her mother's lovers was a man of great existence. The possession
wealth who took a liking to the pretty girl and paid for her education. of great wealth and power
Jeanne learned to sing, to play the clavichord, to ride with uncommon skill, might do for everyday life,
to act and dance; she was schooled in literature and history as if she were a but the commissioning of a
portrait by Warhol was a
boy. The playwright Crébillon instructed her in the art of conversation. 34 • The Art of Seduction
sure indication that the
On top of it all, Jeanne was beautiful, and had a charm and grace that set sitter intended to secure a
her apart early on. In 1741, she married a man of the lower nobility. Now posthumous fame as well.
known as Madame d'Etioles, she could realize a great ambition: she opened Warhol's portraits were not
so much realistic documents
a literary salon. All of the great writers and philosophers of the time fre of contemporary faces as quented the salon, many because they were enamored of the hostess. One they were designer icons
of these was Voltaire, who became a lifelong friend.
awaiting future devotions.
Through all Jeanne's success, she never forgot the fortune-teller's pre— D A V I D B O U R D O N , WARHOL
diction, and still believed that she would one day conquer the king's heart. It happened that one of her husband's country estates bordered on King Louis's favorite hunting grounds. She would spy on him through the fence, Women have served all
or find ways to cross his path, always while she happened to be wearing an these centuries as looking
glasses possessing the magic elegant, yet fetching outfit. Soon the king was sending her gifts of game. and delicious power of When his official mistress died, in 1744, all of the court beauties vied to reflecting the figure of a
take her place; but he began to spend more and more time with Madame man at twice its natural
size.
d'Etioles, dazzled by her beauty and charm. To the astonishment of the
— V I R G I N I A WOOLF, A ROOM
court, that same year he made this middle-class woman his official mistress, OF ONE'S OWN
ennobling her with the title of the Marquise de Pompadour.
The king's need for novelty was notorious: a mistress would beguile him with her looks, but he would soon grow bored with her and find
someone else. After the shock of his choice of Jeanne Poisson wore off, the courtiers reassured themselves that it could not last—that he had only chosen her for the novelty of having a middle-class mistress. Little did they know that Jeanne s first seduction of the king was not the last seduction she had in mind.
As time went by, the king found himself visiting his mistress more and more often. As he ascended the hidden stair that led from his quarters to hers in the
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