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Bonheur debuted at the Paris Salon in 1841 with the two paintings Goats and Sheep and Rabbits Nibbling Carrots. From then onwards she exhibited every year until 1855, showing animal studies and landscapes, most influenced by the Barbizon School painters, including Theodore Rousseau and Camille Corot .
- French
- March 16, 1822
- Bordeaux, Gironde, France
- May 25, 1899
Apr 12, 2024 · Bonheur’s acute attention to anatomical accuracy and dynamic composition echo the principles of realism. Notably, this painting garnered international acclaim and led to Bonheur being the first woman to be awarded the Legion of Honour in 1865.
- ( Head of Content, Editor, Art Writer )
- May 25, 1899
- March 16, 1822
- Realism
Rosa Bonheur (born Marie-Rosalie Bonheur; 16 March 1822 – 25 May 1899) was a French artist known best as a painter of animals (animalière). She also made sculptures in a realist style. [1]
Rosa Bonheur (born March 16, 1822, Bordeaux, France—died May 25, 1899, Château de By, near Fontainebleau) was a French painter and sculptor famed for the remarkable accuracy and detail of her pictures featuring animals.
It was such a painting that spring-boarded Bonheur to international fame. Her masterpiece, ‘The Horse Fair’ (1853; New York, Met), depicting the Parisian horse market, showed to triumphant acclaim at the Paris Salon.
Bonheur’s reputation grew steadily in the 1840s, and she regularly exhibited her animal paintings and sculptures at the Paris Salon, which favored traditional work, from 1841 to 1853. In 1845, Bonheur won a third prize, and in 1848, a gold medal.
In 1855, Bonheur completed her most famous painting: The Horse Fair, a monumental oil painting of a market in Paris. Admired for its large scale (it measures over 16 feet long and eight feet tall), energetic subject matter, and expressive yet realist brushwork, the piece was an instant hit.
