Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899)

Best known for her painting Plowing in Nivernais and The Horse Fair, Rosa Bonheur was one of few female artists who received international recognition for her work during her lifetime. Bonheur studied her subjects with great detail, carefully producing many preparatory sketches before applying paint to canvas. Bonheur was unconventional in both her ambitions and personal conduct, she began dressing like a man in order to paint an be accepted into the rough all-male atmosphere of Paris. Though Bonheur was unconventional she was now a rebel, “She vacillated between middle-class modesty and bohemian audacity all her life,” explains Dore Ashton.

Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899) Couching Lion, 1872 Oil on canvas 18 x 24 in.

Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899) The Highland Shepherd, 1859 Oil on canvas 49 x 63 cm Kunsthalle Hamburg

Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899) La foire du cheval, 1852-55 Oil on canvas 244.5 x 506.7 cm The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-1899) Labourage nivernais (Ploughing in Nevers), 1849 Oil on canvas 52.75 x 102.36 cm Musée d’Orsay

Sources:

• https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/04/style/the-rise-and-fall-of-rosa-bonheur.html