Charles François Paul Le Normant de Tournehem (1684–1751) was a French

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital most of the time the investor purchases some species of property. Type ...

, a '' fermier-général'', or

tax-farmer Farming or tax-farming is a technique of financial management in which the management of a variable revenue stream is assigned by legal contract to a third party and the holder of the revenue stream receives fixed periodic rents from the contract ...

. He is best known for his connection with Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson (1721–1764), future marquise de Pompadour. Her legal guardian from 1725, after her official father was forced to leave the country, he may have been her natural father. He raised her and educated her with care, and he married her in 1741 to his nephew, Charles-Guillaume Le Normant d'Étiolles, from whom she was separated in 1745 at the request of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. Thanks to the influence of Madame de Pompadour, Le Normant de Tournehem was made ''directeur général'' of the

Bâtiments du Roi The Bâtiments du Roi (, "King's Buildings") was a division of the Maison du Roi ("King's Household") in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris. History The Bâtimen ...

in December 1745, succeeding Philibert Orry. He held this post, overseeing royal building works, until his death. "Without artistic prejudices," Fiske Kimball observed, "he was a man of ability, honesty and simplicity, who devoted himself to efficient administration." Le Normant de Tournehem reinstated the post of ''premier peintre du Roi'' which had been allowed to lapse, in favour of

Charles-Antoine Coypel Charles-Antoine Coypel (11 July 1694 – 14 June 1752) was a French painter, art commentator, and playwright. He became court painter to the French king and director of the Académie Royale. He inherited the title of ''Garde des tableaux et des ...

, upon whose artistic advice he wisely depended. Coypel's own advisors were the

comte de Caylus Anne Claude de Tubières-Grimoard de Pestels de Lévis, ''comte de Caylus'', marquis d'Esternay, baron de Bransac (Anne Claude Philippe; 31 October, 16925 September 1765), was a French antiquarian, proto-archaeologist and man of letters. Born in ...

, the brilliant and tireless

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic si ...

and founder of archaeology, who had been an advisor to Orry and was a close friend of the connoisseur

Pierre-Jean Mariette Pierre-Jean Mariette (7 May 1694 – 10 September 1774) was a collector of and dealer in old master prints, a renowned connoisseur, especially of prints and drawings, and a chronicler of the careers of French Italian and Flemish artists. He wa ...

, and Abbé Leblanc, an early critic of the excesses of the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

and an advocate of a chastened simplicity in the arts of design.Kimball 1943. In his role of director of the Bâtiments du Roi, Le Normant de Tournehem oversaw the design and construction of the

Château de Bellevue The Château de Bellevue () was a small château built for Madame de Pompadour in 1750. It was constructed on a broad plateau in Meudon, above a slope overlooking the Seine to the east, but was demolished in 1823 and little remains. History ...

, which served as a discreet meeting ground for Madame de Pompadour and the King. At his death, his successor at the Bâtiments du Roi was Pompadour's capable and carefully prepared brother,

Abel-François Poisson Abel-François Poisson de Vandières, marquis de Marigny and marquis de Menars (1727 – 12 May 1781), often referred to simply as marquis de Marigny, was a French nobleman who served as the director general of the King's Buildings. He was the br ...

, marquis de Vandières, soon to be awarded the title by which posterity knows him, the

Marquis de Marigny A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

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References

*Fiske Kimball, ''Creation of the Rococo'' (Philadelphia Museum of Art) 1943 {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Normant De Tournehem, Charles Francois Paul French financiers Businesspeople from Paris 1684 births 1751 deaths Heads of the Bâtiments du Roi Fermiers généraux