Though artist Rosa Bonheur lived in an era dominated by men, she forged her own unique path in life, finding acclaim as one of the few commercially successful female artists of her day. Wednesday’s Google Doodle celebrated the life and work of this French artist, who was born 200 years ago on March 16, 1822.
Bonheur came from an artistically gifted family. Her mother, Sophie Bonheur, was a piano teacher, who died when Rosa was 11 years old. Her father, Oscar-Raymond Bonheur, was a well-known landscape and portrait painter. She had two brothers and a sister, all of whom were painters. Their father encouraged Rosa to paint, and would often bring animals to their home studio for her to study.
Rosa had difficulty at school, often being disruptive and getting expelled. She would spend most of her time sketching, which she learned to do before turning 6 years old. She struggled with reading and writing, so her mother would have her draw animals for each alphabet letter.
Bonheur failed as a seamstress’ apprentice at age 12; instead, her father took her under his wing, teaching her to paint. She copied images from drawing books and sketched plaster models. As she advanced in her art, she began sketching domesticated animals such as sheep, cattle, horses, goats, and rabbits.
At age 14, she copied paintings she saw at the Louvre, including works from Nicolas Poussin and Peter Paul Rubens, who were among her favorite artists.
The young teen would go to slaughterhouses and the National Veterinary Institute of Paris, dissecting animals to study their anatomy and bone structure. She also frequented farms, stockyards, animal markets, and horse fairs to study animal form and motion.
Bonheur became known for the incredible detail and accuracy of her animal paintings, which appeared very life-like. Her first successful painting was Ploughing in the Nivernais, initially exhibited in 1849. The painting now hangs at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
In 1978, a critic said the painting was “entirely forgotten and rarely dragged out from oblivion.”
Later that year, the French government included the work in a series sent to China for an exhibition titled “The French Landscape and Peasant, 1820–1905.” The exhibit revived Bonheur’s name and reputation.
Another notable work by Bonheur is The Horse Fair (1853), which is now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Bonheur was most popular in Europe. However, in 1865, she was awarded the French Legion of Honour by Empress Eugénie and was promoted to Officer of the Order in 1894. She was the first female artist to receive the honor. Bonheur paved the way for other women to pick up their paintbrushes and become professional artists.
Bonheur was often known for wearing men’s clothes, mainly due to their functionality when working with animals. French women were forbidden to wear pants during Bonheur’s time, and she had to get permission from the police to wear them. The law was adopted in 1800 and was not officially removed from the books until 2013.
Rosa’s lifestyle was unconventional for her era. She lived with Nathalie Micas for 40 years until Micas died in 1889. She then had a relationship with American painter Anna Elizabeth Klumpke.
Bonheur sometimes referred to herself as “grandson” or “brother” when discussing her family and was outspoken about societal norms, refusing to conform to them. She smoked and hunted and considered men to be of little use, calling them “stupid.” Bonheur once said, “The only males I have time or attention for are the bulls I paint.”
Because of her success as an artist, Bonheur was able to purchase a chateau near the town of Fontainebleau. Her deep love of animals led her to keep lions and horses on her estate. After her death, it was renamed “Museum of the Studio of Rosa Bonheur.”
On May 25, 1899, Bonheur died at 77 and was buried next to Micas. Her sole heir was Klumpkw, who joined Micas and Bonheur at Père Lachaise Cemetery after her death.
In 2008, Bonheur’s painting, Monarch of the Forest, sold for $200,000. It is currently listed for sale for $625,000.
