Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: The Dinner Party: Heritage Floor: Marie du Deffand

Marie du Deffand was a prominent figure in the political and literary worlds of eighteenth-century France, as a salon hostess and a woman of letters. She was born into a noble family, schooled at a convent, and shortly thereafter married. Her marriage did not last and Deffand became the mistress of Philippe II, duc d'Orléans. She established her own salon and entertained a circle of aristocrats, scientists, and writers. After she became blind in the 1750s, she asked Julie de Lespinasse to assume hostess responsibilities. Lespinasse's popularity, however, annoyed her; Deffand dismissed her in 1764, around the time her salon began to decline. In addition to hosting, Deffand wrote numerous letters, particularly to the duchess de Choiseul and Horace Walpole.