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Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Madame de Pompadour

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Original - Madame de Pompadour, official mistress to Louis XV of France. Memorial portrait finished after her death.
Reason
Not long ago a few FPC regulars commented about the shortage of women in Wikipedia's featured pictures. So here is one of the leading figures of eighteenth century politics and intellectual life: Madame de Pompadour. She ran a salon where Voltaire was a frequent guest and she encouraged Denis Diderot to pursue his Encyclopédie project, which became the first modern multi-volume encyclopedia. During the 1750s she determined a good part of France's military and diplomatic policy. A commoner by birth who rose through talent and determination, her physical relations with the king ended in 1750 and she selected later partners for him, while as official mistress she functioned as the equivalent to an important minister of state. A good portrait for its era on technical merits and a quality file large enough for nomination.
Articles this image appears in
Madame de Pompadour, Bonnet (headgear), Embroidery hoop
Creator
François-Hubert Drouais

Not promoted MER-C 09:56, 13 March 2008 (UTC)[reply]