NARRATOR: Venus, goddess of love and beauty, is depicted in this painting by the French 18th century artist François Boucher. Katharine Baetjer:

KATHARINE BAETJER: In his own time, he was one of the most loved artists of the Royal Academy. And he was particularly loved by Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's mistress. Royal mistresses had short careers. And so, while they were in power, they had to hurry. Madame de Pompadour was given, by the king, land for a château called Bellevue, not too far from Paris. The château was built quickly. It was small. It was a place where the king could come and be with the royal mistress in a relatively private environment.

NARRATOR: This painting hung in her bathing rooms. Fittingly, it shows Venus readying herself after her bath. A putto, or winged baby, decorates her hair with flowers and pearls – two of her emblems. And doves – another of her symbols – nestle close to her, their soft white feathers perfectly setting off the delicate warmth of her skin. Boucher surrounds Venus with the kind of luxurious trappings you might find in an elegant 18th century boudoir. She reclines on a sofa amid swathes of velvet and damask, beside a gilded oval mirror. Even her hair is a fashionable soft gray – a color achieved with powder by stylish young women of the time.