Rosa Bonheur.Living and working during a time when opportunities for women to succeed on equal terms as men were very limited, Rosa Bonheur Rosa Bonheur, née Marie-Rosalie Bonheur, (b. Bordeaux, France, March 16, 1822 – d. Thomery (By), France, May 25, 1899) was a French animalière and realist artist. achieved a level of success seen by few artists of her century. Despite the recognitions awarded to her during her lifetime, as well as the popularity of her painting The Horse Fair, Bonheur remains overlooked in most histories of nineteenth-century art. Studying the Masters Rosa Bonheur was born in 1822 in France, the first child of Raymond Bonheur, a portrait painter and art instructor, and his wife Sophie, a music teacher. From an early age, Bonheur demonstrated considerable talent in drawing. She spent much of her time copying casts and sketching animals. Although her family attempted to enroll her in a boarding school where she would learn a trade for women, such as dressmaking, Bonheur's unconventional, boisterous nature was not suited for such conventional training. Instead, she became a student in her father's drawing academy when she was thirteen. Like generations of artists before her, Bonheur spent her days copying paintings in the Louvre Louvre (l  `vrə), foremost French museum of art, located in Paris. The building was a royal fortress and palace built by Philip II in the late 12th cent. . She sold some of her work to passers-by
who were drawn to this young girl studying the masters in the company of
students who were older and mostly male.
Exhibiting Her Work Bonheur first exhibited at the Salon in 1841. The art was ignored in reviews, which for Bonheur was tantamount tan·ta·mount adj. Equivalent in effect or value: a request tantamount to a demand. [From obsolete tantamount, an equivalent, from Anglo-Norman to success. Silence on the part of the critics was preferable to the scorn often expressed for women exhibitors. The paintings she exhibited in the Salon throughout the rest of the decade demonstrated the new ideas "New Ideas" is the debut single by Scottish New Wave/Indie Rock act The Dykeenies. It was first released as a Double A-side with "Will It Happen Tonight?" on July 17, 2006. The band also recorded a video for the track. of democratic diversity which were characteristic of the Second Republic. Rather than the noble, idealized i·de·al·ize v. i·de·al·ized, i·de·al·iz·ing, i·de·al·iz·es v.tr. 1. To regard as ideal. 2. To make or envision as ideal. v.intr. 1. themes favored by Neoclassical ne·o·clas·si·cism also Ne·o·clas·si·cism n. A revival of classical aesthetics and forms, especially: a. A revival in literature in the late 17th and 18th centuries, characterized by a regard for the classical ideals of reason, form, artists, such as Prudhon and Ingres, her work represented "common" motifs such as farm animals and agricultural activities. Bonheur's subsequent entries to the Salon were well received. In the Salon of 1848, she was awarded a gold medal gold medal traditional first prize. [Western Cult: Misc.] See : Prize for Cows and Bulls of the Cantal Cantal (käNtäl`), department (1990 pop. 158,300), S central France, in Auvergne. Aurillac is the capital. . Keys to Artistic Success Through her father's instruction, Bonheur learned that careful observation and fidelity to nature were the keys to artistic success. In order to achieve a degree of anatomical realism in her paintings, Bonheur made regular trips to the slaughterhouses of Paris. So as not to attract attention, she cropped her hair and wore men's clothing on these expeditions, a practice she would continue throughout her life and which would earn her the reputation for being eccentric. However, Bonheur claimed she only wore such clothing to achieve the same privileges enjoyed by male artists. Bonheur even received a permit from Parisian authorities to travel and work in men's clothing when working conditions necessitated it. Bonheur made several trips in men's clothing to the horse market of Paris in preparation for what became her best-known work, The Horse Fair. The painting was exhibited in the Salon of 1853 and was an immense success. Queen Victoria of England requested to have it exhibited in Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace (bŭk`ĭng-əm), residence of British sovereigns from 1837, in Westminster metropolitan borough, London, England, adjacent to St. James's Park. . It was eventually purchased by a wealthy American collector and was given to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. in 1887. The Artist's Last Years After The Horse Fair, Bonheur focused on smaller, more intimate portraits and animal studies. She purchased a chateau at By, near the forest of Fontainebleau The forest of Fontainebleau is an important forestland of France, lying 60 km southeast of Paris. It has an area of 280 km² (108 sq mi) and is located primarily in the arrondissement of Fontainebleau in the southwestern part of the department of Seine-et-Marne. , in 1860 and lived there until her death in 1899. It was during these years that Bonheur became the first woman to be awarded the Medal of the Legion of Honor Legion of Honor: see decorations, civil and military. by the French government and was visited in her studio by the Empress Eugenie, who insisted that Bonheur wear her "customary" men's attire when receiving her. Bonheur never married or had children. She spent many years of her life with Nathalie Micas, whom she had met as a child. The two became lifelong friends and lived together until Micas' death in 1889. Bonheur's last years were spent with Anna Klumpke, a young American painter whom Bonheur made her sole heir and the executor executor n. the person appointed to administer the estate of a person who has died leaving a will which nominates that person. Unless there is a valid objection, the judge will appoint the person named in the will to be executor. of her estate. Klumpke made several portraits of Bonheur the finest of which is also in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. RELATED ARTICLE: Understanding the Work The Horse Fair depicts the market in Paris where horses were bought and sold in the nineteenth century. Bonheur began the painting in 1852 and worked on it for a year before it was exhibited in the Salon of 1853. After the exhibition, Bonheur repainted parts of the painting (e.g., the ground, trees and sky) which had been criticized for their summary execution. The painting now bears the date 1853/5. The painting depicts the parade aux chevaux, when the horses were paraded around for potential buyers to see. Bonheur made preparatory sketches at the market dressed in men's clothing. In her own words: "This costume was a great protection to me. My skirts would have been a great hindrance hin·drance n. 1. a. The act of hindering. b. The condition of being hindered. 2. One that hinders; an impediment. See Synonyms at obstacle. , making me conspicious and perhaps calling forth unpleasant remarks.... Thus I was taken for a young lad, and unmolested." Bonheur derived inspiration from the equestrian paintings of Stubss, Delacroix and Gericault. She was also influenced by the intense movement of the figures in the friezes of the Parthenon, and later in life referred to the painting as her own "Parthenon, and later in life referred to the painting as her own "Parthenon frieze The Parthenon Frieze is the low relief, pentelic marble sculpture created to adorn the upper part of the Parthenon’s naos. It was sculpted between ca. 443 and 438 BC[1] most likely under the direction of Phidias. ." Her reputation for depicting animals in naturalistic nat·u·ral·is·tic adj. 1. Imitating or producing the effect or appearance of nature. 2. Of or in accordance with the doctrines of naturalism. movement and the effects of light and shadow was already well established by the time the painting was exhibited. These characteristics are supremely developed in The Horse Fair, where the central procession of men and horses seems to swirl back and forth in a continuous movement from the background to the foreground. Questions about the Work 1. Describe what is taking place. (The painting depicts the moment at which the horse handlers parade the horses for sale around the central field of the market. Several onlookers--potential buyers, perhaps--can be seen observing the scene in the right background. The point of view in the painting seems to be at one edge of the field around which the horses were led, as they seem to be moving towards our gaze on one end and back away from it at the other.) 2. How has the artist indicated the time of day and the weather in which the scene is taking place? (The harsh light and strong shadows on the ground indicated the scene is probably taking place in the early morning or late afternoon. As the horses move about the parade ground, their hooves hooves n. A plural of hoof. hooves Noun a plural of hoof hooves hoof raise clouds of dust, indicating that the ground is dry. The haze in the atmosphere conveys a sense of summertime heat.) Activity Extensions Elementary * Write a story describing the sounds, smells and feel of the scene depicted in the painting. Is the weather warm or cool? Sunny or cloudy? Rainy or dry? How can you tell? * Complete drawings, paintings or collages depicting favorite animals. Middle Grades * The Horse Fair is a type of painting known as an "exhibition piece": a large-scale painting, often with a historical or heroic theme. Ask students what they might consider to be appropriate themes for contemporary exhibition pieces. Students can then complete their own exhibition pieces on large sheets of oak tag or kraft paper to be exhibited in a classroom "Salon." * The painting depicts the moment when the horses for sale were paraded before potential buyers. Ask students to consider what might be a contemporary equivalent of the horse fair. High School * Have students complete research projects on other animal artists of the nineteenth century, in particular, the French artist Troyon and the English artist Landseer, comparing their work to Bonheur's and considering why the work of these painters was to fall into disfavor with the advent of Impressionism impressionism, in painting impressionism, in painting, late-19th-century French school that was generally characterized by the attempt to depict transitory visual impressions, often painted directly from nature, and by the use of pure, broken color to . * Have students research other notable women artists in the nineteenth century. Many Cassatt is perhaps an obvious choice whose work, although considerably different from Bonheur's, may be compared with it on several grounds, including subject matter, recording effects of light and fidelity to nature. Is there something markedly "feminine" about these artists' work? Why or why not? Resources Ashton, Dore, and Denise Brown Denise Brown (born July 29, 1957) is the older sister of the late Nicole Brown Simpson, who was found murdered along with her friend Ronald Goldman. Nicole's former husband, O.J. Simpson, was accused of the murder. Hare. Rosa Bonheur: A Life and a Legend New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Viking, 1981. Masterpieces of the Metropolitan. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. Shriver shrive v. shrove or shrived, shriv·en or shrived, shriv·ing, shrives v.tr. 1. To hear the confession of and give absolution to (a penitent). 2. , Rosalia. Rosa Bonheur. Philadelphia: The Art Alliance Press, 1982. For young readers: Turner, Robyn Montana. Rosa Bonheur. "Portraits of Women Artists for Children' series. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. John D'Addario is an assistant in Education at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
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