Talking about the king’s mistress at the Chrysler

NORFOLK

Alden Rand Gordon, an esteemed art history professor, will lecture on Wednesday at the Chrysler Museum of Art about the most successful mistress in history.

How seemly is that?

The subject’s fine for a museum because the babe under discussion is Madame de Pompadour, an 18th-century French gal who was mistress to France’s King Louis XV from 1745 until her death in 1764.

Her talents apparently extended beyond the bedroom. She influenced royal policies, such as those affecting domestic and international affairs, and was the unofficial minister of culture, according to the website of The National Gallery in London.

Her real name was Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, and Gordon will lecture on the woman and her times at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the museum. His free talk is sponsored by the Norfolk Society of Arts.

Gordon was born within a block or so of the Chrysler, in a hospital that used to be on the Hague, he wrote in an email. He grew up in Norfolk and attended Granby High School; his mother, Anetha Gordon, was a Chrysler docent, or volunteer tour guide, in the 1970s and 1980s.

These days he teaches art history at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. He has published several books and worked with numerous museums, including the Louvre in Paris and the Frick Collection in New York.

His current work focuses on art collecting in 18th century France, especially in regards to Pompadour, a major art patron.

Teresa Annas, 757-446-2485, teresa.annas@pilotonline.com