Lena Rivera
Rosa Bonheur was a French artist who became famous for her paintings of animals. She was born in Bordeaux in 1822 and moved to Paris with her family in 1828, where she began her artistic training by copying images from drawing books and sketching plaster models. She went on to study animal anatomy and osteology in the abattoirs of Paris, and her paintings of livestock, predatory cats, and horses brought her international recognition. Bonheur's most famous works include Ploughing in the Nivernais, which depicts twelve oxen ploughing the land, and The Horse Fair, which she presented in 1855.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Genre | Realism, Romanticism |
| Subject matter | Animals, including horses, sheep, cows, lions, rabbits, oxen, goats, and more |
| Style | Academic rigor, en plein air |
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What You'll Learn
Horses
Rosa Bonheur was a French artist who became a commercially successful painter at a time when few women were successful in pursuing a career in the arts. She is known for her artistic realism and her paintings are some of the most acclaimed depictions of animals in Western art history. She was widely considered to be the most famous female painter of the nineteenth century.
Bonheur was an early feminist. She lived independently and supported herself financially through her painting. She also rejected typical female attire and applied for a police permit to wear men's clothing while working. She was also openly lesbian, living with her partner Nathalie Micas for over 40 years.
Bonheur's paintings often depicted horses, among other animals. She had a particular interest in and love for horses, and had been studying them for a long time before she painted them. She would often visit animal fairs in male dress to sketch her subjects, as women were not allowed at these markets. Her most famous work, The Horse Fair, was completed in 1855 and measured 8 by 16 feet (2.4 by 4.9 meters). It depicts the horse market held in Paris on a tree-lined boulevard. The painting features dozens of complex figures and raised a minor animal genre to the height of great historical and mythological canvasses.
Bonheur's other paintings of horses include Highland Shepherd, completed in 1859, and The Highland Raid, completed in 1860. These pieces depicted a way of life in the Scottish Highlands that had disappeared a century earlier and had enormous appeal to Victorian sensibilities. In 1890, Bonheur painted Buffalo Bill Cody on horseback.
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Sheep
Rosa Bonheur was a French artist, known for her paintings of animals and landscapes. She was a successful female painter during a time when few women were able to pursue a career in the arts. Bonheur often depicted sheep in her paintings, capturing their biology and naturalistic accuracy through scientific observation and knowledge of their anatomy. One of her most notable works featuring sheep is "Sheep by the Sea" (1865), which is currently exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC.
"Sheep by the Sea" depicts a complacent flock of seven sheep settled in a meadow near the seashore. The painting showcases Bonheur's skill in playing with light and shadow, giving the wooly subjects a soft texture and physical form. The sheep are arranged in two clusters, with three sheep in the foreground and four in the midground, against a backdrop of the sea and sky. This composition adds interest and showcases Bonheur's observational skills.
Bonheur's painting style was influenced by her studies of animal anatomy, which included visits to farms, stockyards, butcher shops, and slaughterhouses. She created numerous preparatory sketches and diligently studied the anatomy of various animals, including sheep, to achieve the naturalistic style she is known for.
The sheep in Bonheur's paintings can be seen as icons of freedom. They are often depicted in wild, unfarmed landscapes, appearing self-sufficient and free from human control. This interpretation aligns with Bonheur's progressive views and her desire for greater liberty and freedom.
Bonheur's paintings of sheep and other animals had broad appeal, and her work was easily accepted by the establishment. Her success as a female artist served as an inspiration and paved the way for future generations of women artists.
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Cows
Rosa Bonheur was a French artist, known for her paintings of animals and landscapes. She was an early feminist, living independently and openly as a lesbian, and wearing men's clothing—for which she had to obtain a police permit. She was also a role model for future generations of women artists, including Georgia O'Keeffe and Frida Kahlo.
Bonheur was trained by her father, a minor landscape painter, who brought live animals to the family studio for his daughter to study. She also studied animal anatomy at abattoirs, stockyards, and butcher shops. She once described this research as "wading in pools of blood".
Bonheur's paintings often depicted cows and oxen. Her first early success was a large oil painting commissioned and exhibited in 1849 by the French government. It depicted twelve oxen ploughing the land in preparation for planting. The painting, titled Ploughing in the Nivernais, was a respectful portrayal of timeless peasant life, work, and tradition. It is now exhibited at the Musée Nationale du Château de Fontainebleau.
Another of Bonheur's paintings featuring cows is Cattle at Rest on a Hillside in the Alps, which was completed in 1885 and is exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago.
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Lions
Rosa Bonheur was a French artist, born in Bordeaux, who became a commercially successful painter at a time when few women were successful in pursuing a career in the arts. She was known for her artistic realism and her paintings often depicted animals, including lions.
Bonheur had a particular interest in lions, which she considered magnificent animals. She produced a series of pictures featuring a range of animals, but her lion paintings stood out as the most beautiful part of her work. One of her notable lion paintings is titled "Lion and Prey" (also known as "The Kill"), completed in 1847 and now in a private collection. This painting showcases Bonheur's ability to capture the beauty and power of lions in their natural state.
Another of her lion paintings is "Lion in a Mountainous Landscape," created in 1880. This work demonstrates Bonheur's talent for integrating lions into diverse environments, in this case, a rugged mountain setting. The painting is also part of a private collection.
Bonheur's interest in lions extended beyond her artwork. At her palace in Fontainebleau, she kept several animals, including a pair of lions, deer, and parrots. This unusual menagerie reflects her deep fascination with the natural world and her desire to understand her subjects intimately.
Bonheur's most famous painting, "The Horse Fair" (1855), showcases her interest in horses, which was a common theme among painters at the time. The painting's enormous dimensions elevated the subject of animals to the level of grand historical and mythological canvases. "The Horse Fair" brought her international acclaim and was exhibited in England, admired by Queen Victoria.
Bonheur's work as a whole, including her lion paintings, demonstrates her dedication to studying animal anatomy and her commitment to direct observation from nature. She visited slaughterhouses and the Institute of Veterinary Medicine, even participating in animal dissections to ensure the utmost realism in her artwork. Her unconventional lifestyle and artistic methods, combined with her academic rigor, influenced the Impressionist movement that followed.
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Landscapes
Rosa Bonheur was a French artist, widely considered to be the most famous female painter of the nineteenth century. She was known for her artistic realism and is best known for her paintings of animals. However, landscapes also feature in her work, often as backdrops to her animal subjects.
Bonheur's father, Oscar-Raymond Bonheur, was a landscape and portrait painter, and he encouraged his daughter's artistic talents. She was also influenced by the Barbizon School, many of whose members painted their landscapes outdoors. Bonheur adopted this method of working en plein air, which was unusual at the time, and took her canvas and easel outside, particularly towards the end of her career.
Bonheur's paintings often depicted the harmony between man and nature, and her work tells a respectful story of timeless peasant life, work, and tradition. For example, her painting 'Ploughing in the Nivernais' (1848/1849) shows twelve oxen ploughing the land in preparation for planting. The painting is set in the Nivernais region of France, and the landscape is depicted in a humble, realistic style. Similarly, 'Sheep by the Sea' (1865) captures a placid moment of a flock of sheep settled in a meadow near a body of water. This painting was inspired by Bonheur's trip through the Scottish Highlands in 1855, and it demonstrates her commitment to direct observation from nature.
Bonheur also painted landscapes in a more romantic style, setting her paintings in the past. For example, her work 'Changement de pâturages' or 'Spanish Muleteers Crossing the Pyrenees' (1857) depicts muleteers in costumes from centuries ago.
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Frequently asked questions
Bonheur was a painter of animals, also known as an 'animalière'. She depicted both domesticated and wild animals, including horses, sheep, cows, goats, rabbits, lions and predatory cats.
No, Bonheur also painted humans. In her work 'Spanish Muleteers Crossing the Pyrenees', she dressed her human subjects in costumes that had not been used for centuries. She also painted landscapes, including 'Ploughing in the Nivernais', which depicts peasant life, work and tradition.
Bonheur was traditional in her working method. She studied her subjects carefully and produced many preparatory sketches before applying paint to canvas. She was also known to take her canvas outdoors to paint 'en plein air', which was unusual for the time.
Bonheur's most famous paintings include 'Ploughing in the Nivernais' (1848/1849), 'The Horse Fair' (1853/1855), 'Highland Shepherd' (1859) and 'The Highland Raid' (1860).
