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Rosa Bonheur, a 19th Century Realist Female Artist

This exhibition will be your guide through the masterpieces created by one of the most successful female artists of all time, Rosa Bonheur.

Back in the early 19th century, women were not permitted to attend any type of formal schooling. Their main role in society was to take care of the children and the house. Rosa learned several of artistic techniques from her father, Raimond Oscar Bonheur, an art teacher as well as an artist. He allowed Rosa to attend some of his classes and encouraged her to pursue a career as an artist. Rosa believed that all creatures had souls and developed a sense of respect for them. "Her love for animals translated into amazingly precise and interpretive depictions of their very nature and physiognomy." The realistic details of her artwork come from learning their anatomy by dissecting them in local slaughterhouses.

Rosa also had a "unique" lifestyle for a woman in the 19th century. She did not believe in marriage so she had two consecutive committed relationships with women. Many believe that due to her lifestyle, Rosa was not given the credit she deserved.

This exhibit contains several paintings that clearly show the elaborate details and techniques Rosa used and proved to the viewers that woman, no matter what their lifestyle is, can produce masterpieces just as good, if not better than men.

People of all ages are encouraged to view and enjoy this exhibition. The knowledge gained from one, realist, feminist artist of the 19th century is simply astounding.

  • Born March 16th 1822 in Bordeaux, France
  • oldest of four artistic children, mainly taught by her father
  • known as the most popular female artist of the 19th century
  • Rosa was the first woman artist to be awarded the Grand Cross by the French Legion of Honor
  • Rosa never married because she felt that "Marriage, the sole alternative to such employment, also reduced women to prisoners of men." Rosa lived with her female partner until she died. Her choice of lifestyle is one of the reasons why her amazing work was not "universally acclaimed" by contemporary critics.
  • Bonheur received several international awards like The Cross of San Carlos. the Commander's Cross of the Royal Order, Catholic Cross and the Leopold Cross.
  • She was the first woman to be honored in the position of Officier de la Legion d'Honneur
  • Rosa died on May 25th, 1899

Bonheur was committed to her realist stye and visited stockyards, livestock markets, and slaughterhouses to successfully create her amazing works of art with animals. These places only allowed men to participate therefore Rosa dressed just like them.

Rosa had to obtain written permission from the French government to wear men's clothing

This painting is what established Rosa's international fame. Included in the center is a self portrait, the only figure that looks back at the viewer with a three-quarter pose. "Bonheur exemplifies the lengths to which an ordinary woman had to go to achieve freedom of movement in a male-defined space."

"Plowing in the Nivernais: The Dressing of the Vines" 1849

Rosa was commissioned by the French government to paint this. She completed it just one year after the revolution.

Lockard, R. A. (n.d.). Bonheur, Rosa (1822-1899). Retrieved from www.ringlingdocents.org/bonheurbio.htm

Rosa Bonheur. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Museum of Women of the Arts: http://nmwa.org/explore/artist-profiles/rosa-bonheur

Rosa Bonheur. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search?ft=rosa+bonheur

Rosa Bonheur The Art History Archive. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/realism/Rosa-Bonheur

Saslow, J. M. (1992). "Disagreeably Hidden". In N. B. Garrard, The Expanding Discourse Feminism and Art History (pp. 188-205). New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Women Artistst: Rosa Bonheur. (n.d.). Retrieved from You Tube:

Stephanie Faluotico

Rosa Bonheur

"Oxen Pulling a Cart"

"Chamois Mother and Baby" 1888

"Study of a Fox" 1875

In Conclusion

"Berger des Pyrenees" 1880

Bonheur, Rosa [Credit: Pierson—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

"Stag in an Autumn Landscape"

Curatorial Statement

"The Horse Fair" 1853-55

"Rowing Boat" 1863

"Flusslandschaft"

"Couching Lion" 1872

"Landscape with Cattle" 1856

References

"The White Horse" 1879

"Limier Briquet Hound" 1856

"Persian Leopards"

"Buffalo Bill" 1889

"Stalking Tiger"

"Sultan and Rosette" 1853

"Lioness Posing" 1874

"The Italian Greyhound" 1886

"Black and Tan King Charles Spaniel" 1853

"The Lions at Home" 1881

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