PIGALLE, Jean-Baptiste
(b. 1714, Paris, d. 1785, Paris)

Madame de Pompadour as Friendship

1753
Marble, height 166 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Commissioned in 1750, the statue, which reproduces the features of the marquise de Pompadour, was placed in a grove dedicated to Love in the gardens of the Château de Bellevue. The allegory is described in the terms set out in manuals of iconology: wearing a plain white dress, with her breast and arms bare, Friendship is ready to help those she loves; at her feet are flowers from all four seasons, for while Love lives in the moment, Friendship flourishes all through life.