Pompadour (hairstyle)
Videos
Page
The pompadour is a hairstyle named after Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), a mistress of King Louis XV of France. Although there are numerous variations of the style for men, women, and children, the basic concept is having a large volume of hair swept upwards from the face and worn high over the forehead, and sometimes upswept around the sides and back as well.
Queen Marie Antoinette wearing a large pompadour under an elaborate headdress, 1787
Lady Astor wearing hair in this style in a famous portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1909
Bette Davis wearing an updated, streamlined pompadour in the film Now, Voyager, 1942
Actress and World War II pin-up girl Betty Grable wearing another variant of the pompadour style, 1943
Madame de Pompadour
Videos
Page
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and remained influential as court favourite until her death.
Portrait by Charles-André van Loo, ca.1755
Jeanne Antoinette at a toilette table applying blush (portrait by François Boucher, 1758)
A portrait of Madame de Pompadour and a dog at the foot of her shoes (portrait by François Boucher, 1756)
Madame de Pompadour as Diana the Huntress (portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier, 1746)