Rosa Bonheur
Rosa Bonheur was a notable French painter born on March 16, 1822, in Bordeaux, known for her innovative works primarily focusing on animals and agrarian themes. Raised in an artistic family, she developed a deep appreciation for art from a young age, influenced by her father, who was an art teacher. After moving to Paris, Bonheur faced personal hardships but thrived in her artistic pursuits, becoming recognized for her unique style that combined meticulous observation of animal anatomy with a distinct aesthetic.
Her most famous work, *The Horse Fair*, debuted at the Paris Salon in 1853, garnering international acclaim and cementing her status in the art world. Bonheur not only excelled in her field but also played a vital role in advancing the position of women in the arts, breaking societal norms by adopting a masculine style of dress and behavior. Throughout her career, she became a symbol of female empowerment and an advocate for agrarian art, influencing future generations of artists. Bonheur received numerous accolades, including the prestigious French Legion d'Honneur, and her legacy continues to be celebrated, particularly during significant anniversaries of her birth.
Rosa Bonheur
French painter
- Born: March 16, 1822
- Place of Birth: Bordeaux, France
- Died: May 25, 1899
- Place of Death: By, France (near present-day Thomery)
Significance: Rosa Bonheur was an innovative French painter whose works, usually involving animals, increased public interest in agrarian art. Through her career and unconventional behaviors, she also helped remove societal barriers for future female artists.
Background
Rosa Bonheur was born in Bordeaux, France, on March 16, 1822. At birth, her full name was Marie-Rosalie Bonheur. Her parents, Raimond and Sophie Marquis Bonheur, were both interested in art. Raimond was an art teacher who taught landscape painting, and Sophie was a musician who had once attended Raimond's classes. The Bonheur family stressed the value of art, and each of the couple's four children—Rosa, Auguste, Juliette, and Isidore—became artists.
In 1829, the family moved to Paris. By that time, Raimond had taught Bonheur much about the visual arts. He also taught her about the beliefs of the Saint Simeons, a group of utopists who believed in perfecting society through reforms including gender equality. Bonheur took these messages to heart and was soon known in her neighborhood for her love of art and her liberated thought and behavior patterns. She also developed a fascination with animals, another theme that would prove important in her life and career.
Around 1833, Raimond left the family to stay at a Saint Simeon retreat, and Sophie, heartbroken and impoverished, died. The children were sent to adoptive families. Bonheur was adopted by the nearby Micas family and quickly formed a deep friendship with the family's daughter, Nathalie. Bonheur and her love of art flourished. She spent hours at the Louvre museum copying the masterpieces there and later studied with the artist Léon Cogniet.
Life’s Work
It was no surprise to the people who knew Bonheur that her favorite subject for painting was animals. She paired her art studies with biological and anatomical research, visiting local horse markets as well as slaughterhouses regularly. Due to her rough and often messy lifestyle, Bonheur began to wear men's work clothing, including pants, thick boots, and a smock. She also cut her hair short, which at the time was extremely uncommon among women.
In 1841, at the age of nineteen, Bonheur began submitting some of her work, mostly paintings and sculptures of animals, to the famous Paris Salon art exhibition. Bonheur's paintings fared well, and many were placed on display. In 1845, she won a third-place award, and three years later, earned a gold medal for first place. Her first-place triumph brought more attention to her and her style of painting.
Her success also prompted the French government and Salon officials to recognize the importance of agrarian artwork that celebrated the countryside, animals, and rural life. In 1849, Bonheur submitted to the Salon a government-commissioned painting, Plowing in the Nivernais, which portrayed teams of oxen plowing a farm field. This work won another first-place award at the Salon. That year, Bonheur and her sister Juliette were made directors of l'École Gratuite de Dessin pour les Jeunes Filles, a school for young female artists.
Bonheur frequented the Paris horse markets and for more than a year sketched horses, trainers, buyers, and sellers, making plans for a masterpiece of animal art. In planning this grand work, she drew inspiration from other artists such as George Stubbs, Eugène Delacroix, and Théodore Géricault. She also drew some ideas from the friezes, or relief sculptures, of ancient Greece that often showed horses and riders in dynamic positions.
The result of this long period of research and painting was The Horse Fair, a massive painting showing a large group of people attempting to round up several high-spirited horses. Bonheur debuted this painting at the 1853 Salon, and it won widespread praise throughout Europe and beyond. Art dealer Ernest Gambart purchased the painting and exhibited it in Belgium and then England, where Queen Victoria marveled at it. Bonheur also had the painting reproduced and prints made available internationally. In 1887, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, from the prominent American Vanderbilt family, bought the painting for $53,000, or the equivalent of about $1.7 million early twenty-first century dollars, and donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The popularity of the painting led to celebrity status for Bonheur, who became so well known that some companies produced toy dolls in her likeness. After a tour of Britain, Bonheur moved to Château de By in France, where she built a large studio and personal zoo. There, she entertained royalty and celebrities, but she still found time to paint. Some masterpieces of her later years include a portrait of William F. Cody, the famed Buffalo Bill.
Following the death of Nathalie Micas, Bonheur went into mourning. She recovered enough by 1893 to tour the United States and attend the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where she saw exhibits relating to women's rights. Two years later, she met Anna Klumpke, an American painter and biographer, who came to live with her in France. Bonheur painted her final works, including the massive La Foulaison du Blé en Camargue in 1899, shortly before her death on May 25 of that year.
Impact
Rosa Bonheur was an unconventional artist who helped to add new dimensions to nineteenth-century culture and society. She popularized animal and agrarian themes in painting and other artwork. She also helped to pave the way for future female artists as well as to defy traditional gender roles in French society. In March 2022, on the two-hundredth anniversary of Bonheur's birth, Google changed its logo in several countries to honor the celebrated artist.
Personal Life
Bonheur was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur (Legion of Honor) in 1865. In 1894, she was promoted to Officier de la Legion d'Honneur, the first woman to receive this rank.
Bibliography
Blume, Mary. "The Rise and Fall of Rosa Bonheur." New York Times. New York Times Company, 4 Oct. 1997. Web. 19 May 2016.
"The Horse Fair." The Met. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 19 May 2016.
Klumpke, Anna. Rosa Bonheur: The Artist's (Auto)Biography. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003. Print.
Lockard, Ray Anne. "Bonheur, Rosa (1822–1899)." Virtual Library on the Ringling Museum. RinglingDocents.org. Web. 19 May 2016.
"Rosa Bonheur." National Museum of Women in the Arts. National Museum of Women in the Arts. Web. 19 May 2016.
"Rosa Bonheur's 200th Birthday." Google Doodle, 16 Mar. 2022, www.google.com/doodles/rosa-bonheurs-200th-birthday. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
"Rosa Bonheur, L'Artiste." Rosa Bonheur Guinguette. Rosa Bonheur Guinguette. Web. 19 May 2016.
Whiddington, Richard. "Art Bites: Rosa Bonheur Had to Go Incognito to Paint ‘The Horse Fair’." Artnet, 21 Apr. 2024, news.artnet.com/art-world/art-bites-rosa-bonheur-the-horse-fair-2456846. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.