After Maurice Quentin De La Tour (1704-1788) Pastel of Madame De Pompadour. 19th Century

The original painting of Madame de Pompadour, now in the Louvre, Paris, was commissioned from de La Tour in 1751 by her brother the Marquis de Marigny, director of the King’s buildings. Her portrait took several years to complete, due to a combination of legitimate excuses and bad faith by de La Tour, it was finally exhibited at the Salon in 1755. The version in the Louvre is considered the most famous pastel of the 18th Century and this is another later version of the same size in pastel. Another copy was painted in oil in 1838 by Charles de Steuben for the Historical Galleries of the Palace of Versailles. Provenance Queen Isabella II of Spain. Palais de Castile Paris. Sold L’Hotel Majestic, 1937 Baroness Helene de Rothschild Baron Therry van Zuylen and by descent Queen Isabella II of Spain (1830-1904) Isabella was born in the Royal Palace of Madrid in 1830, the eldest daughter of King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and of his fourth wife and niece, Maria Christina of the Two Sicilies. Queen Maria Christina became regent on 29th September 1833 on the death of the King and Isabella, at just two years old, was proclaimed sovereign following the death of Ferdinand VII. Isabella was declared of age and swore the 1837 Constitution on the 10th November 1843 when she was thirteen years old. On 10 October 1846, the government arranged for the 16-year-old queen to marry her double first cousin, Francisco de Asís, Duke of Cádiz (1822–1902). Palais de Castile Built in 1864 as the Hotel Bassiliewski, it was later renamed the Palace of Castile by the former Queen Isabella II of Spain, who lived there in exile from 1868. It was from this palace that she abdicated in favour of her son, Alfonso XII, on 25 June 1870, before he ultimately ascended the Spanish throne during the Restoration of 1874. She died there in 1904, after which the building and its contents were sold and became the Hotel Majestic until it was sold in 1936 to the French Govt and the contents were sold at auction. Madame de Pompadour 1721-1764 Born Jeanne Antoinette Poisson was created Marquise de Pompadour when she became Louis XV mistress in 1745.