The Role of the Royal Mistress in the Design of Great French Palaces

About this course:

A taste for elegance and luxurious refinement created a world in which royal mistresses had at their disposal the best of their country’s painters and decorative artists to embellish their kings’ palaces and various residences. The collections amassed by the royal mistresses were made possible by their acknowledged position, which conferred almost unlimited spending power. Through lecture and lavish slide illustration, the lives of influential mistresses such as Madame du Pompadour and Madame du Barry are discussed within the social and political surroundings of court life.