Madame de Pompadour in the context of "Lady-in-waiting"

The Indiscreet Jewels (or The Indiscreet Toys, or The Talking Jewels; French: Les Bijoux indiscrets) is the first novel by Denis Diderot, published anonymously in 1748. It is an allegory that portrays Louis XV as Mangogul, Sultan of Congo, who owns a magic ring that makes women's vaginas ("jewels") talk. The character of Mirzoza represents Louis XV's mistress Madame de Pompadour. Diderot portrayed Pompadour in a flattering light in The Indiscreet Jewels, most likely to ensure her support for his Encyclopedie.

The Élysée Palace (French: Palais de l'Élysée, pronounced [palɛ d(ə) lelize]) is the official residence of the president of France in Paris. Completed in 1722, it was built for Louis Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, a nobleman and army officer who had been appointed governor of Île-de-France in 1719. It is located on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the 8th arrondissement, near the Champs-Élysées. The name Élysée derives from the Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology.

The Élysée Palace has been the home of personalities such as Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764), Nicolas Beaujon (1718–1786), Bathilde d'Orléans (1750–1822), Joachim Murat (1767–1815), and Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (1778–1820). On 12 December 1848, under the Second Republic, the French Parliament passed a law declaring the building the official residence of the French president. The Élysée Palace, which contains the presidential office and residency, is also the meeting place of the Council of Ministers, the weekly meeting of the Government of France that is presided over by the president of the Republic. Across the street is the Hôtel de Marigny, which has served as a state guest house where the French government has hosted visiting dignitaries.

The maîtresse-en-titre (French: [mɛtʁɛs ɑ̃ titʁ]) was the official royal mistress of the King of France. The title was vaguely defined and used in the Middle Ages but finally became an acknowledged, if informal, position during the reign of Henry IV (r. 1589–1610), and continued through the reign of Louis XV (r. 1715–1774). It was a semi-official position which came with its own apartments, estates and a title if the woman did not have any.

Some individuals having this position acquired significant power and more influence than the Queen of France, as some mistresses were known to advise the King of France in state affairs if he was so infatuated, broker favors for clients, elevate others in social mobility, forge alliances and negotiate with foreign diplomats.

Maurice Quentin de La Tour (French pronunciation: [mɔʁis kɑ̃tɛ̃ də la tuʁ]; 5 September 1704 – 17 February 1788) was a French painter who specialised in portrait painting using pastels in the Rococo style. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Louis XV, and Madame de Pompadour.

A mistress or kept woman is a woman who is in a relatively long-term sexual and romantic relationship with someone who is married to a different person.

The Louis XV style or Louis Quinze (/ˌluːi ˈkæ̃z/, French: [lwi kɛ̃z]) is a style of architecture and decorative arts which appeared during the reign of Louis XV. From 1710 until about 1730, a period known as the Régence, it was largely an extension of the Louis XIV style of his great-grandfather and predecessor, Louis XIV. From about 1730 until about 1750, it became more original, decorative and exuberant, in what was known as the Rocaille style, under the influence of the King's mistress, Madame de Pompadour. It marked the beginning of the European Rococo movement. From 1750 until the King's death in 1774, it became more sober, ordered, and began to show the influences of Neoclassicism.