[MUSIC] We've come down to the prints and drawing study room at the National Gallery of Victoria, which has absolutely, without question, the best collection of European drawings in the Southern Hemisphere. Works like this, which is a pastel of Madame de Pompadour, certainly are works that rival some of the best collections in North America. This is a real gem of the collection, in terms of the 18th century French works. Could be one of the best 18th century French works of art in Australia in the Southern Hemisphere. It is a pastel by Francois Boucher of Madame de Pompadour, who I mentioned earlier was the mistress, the official mistress of Louis XV. Very interesting woman. She was from the bourgeoisie rather than from the nobility, and she was ennobled by the King when she was made his official mistress, so that she could be presented at court. It was somewhat scandalous at the time, but nonetheless, she was a woman who was known for her beauty and for her intelligence. Very clever woman on top of that. Appointed, or had the king appoint her uncle and her brother to positions of importance within the arts. They became directors of the king's buildings, which meant that they were responsible for all of the works of art that were commissioned to go in places like Versailles or the Louvre. If the king was going to renovate any of the rooms, the directeur de bâtiments, which would have been Madame de Pompadour's brother at the time, would have been the person who really made all of the final decisions. So extremely powerful men in the arts who where connected to Madame de Pompadour. So this was somewhat controversial at the time, because she was seen to be not only a woman, but also a member of the bourgeoisie who was exerting so much influence over the king, over matters of taste at court. Because her taste was seen as something, or she was something of a taste-maker I guess we would say today. Now, pastels are really something that artists who are very skilled, like Boucher, excelled at in this period. Now they were works of art in their own right, not done as preparatory drawings, but meant to be more intimate kinds of works of art that were collected by elite people, who really had taste. And also expertise in things like collecting drawings rather than paintings that would be used more decoratively. Now Madame de Pompadour, interestingly enough, was also an amateur artist herself. She took lessons in drawings and print making with Boucher. So in this particular pastel portrait of Madame de Pompadour, who we see in the middle here. Beautifully represented with her head and her bust, much like the king's bust, Medallion that we saw earlier in this particular class. We see Madame de Pompadour in a crown of roses, but also framed by roses. Also framed by little putti, these little flying cherubs that come out of 17th century art in particular. But below her what you see are references to her taste in the arts. Not just sculpture and painting, you can see there's a little head, sculpted head. And also an artist pallet and brushes, but also scripts of music, scrolls and a book. So she's a woman of taste and learning. Now, the way that it's represented, also you might be able to see here, some of the hatching on the little cherubs, which is this fine lines, parallel lines that create their fleshiness, which contrasts with the very fine edges, light edges, that really draw out Madame de Pompadour herself. So by being placed by the medallion of her portrait, being placed on top of these references or attributes, to the visual arts and music, she's also shown as a woman of beauty. And the use of all of the flowers, the roses, the rosebuds emphasise her femininity. Now, another element of Rococo art which we haven't discussed so much yet in this piece, is the fact that the colours or the palette that Rococo artists, 18th Century French artists use, tended to be pastel colours. So light pinks, blues, greens and sometimes yellows, those hues that are extremely delicate. So in this work we have the colours that come out of the medium, the handling of the medium which is delicate and adds to the reception of Madame de Pompadour as a delicate refined woman of taste and learning. So this is a really exceptional piece made by Boucher about ten years after the pastel landscapes that we saw upstairs. That positions him really as the most important artist at court, working for Madame de Pompadour, the most influential woman of taste in the court of Louis XIV. And we have this wonderful work, in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria. And if you come here you must make an appointment to see this particular work, because it is rare, and it is significant. While we move on, I want to go back to the question of sexuality in narrative, moved away from a gendered treatment of a particular female sitter in this pastel work. [MUSIC]
