Happy Birthday to Rosa Bonheur who was born on this day in 1822.
Bonheur was a pioneer on many levels, becoming the most popular animal painter of the nineteenth century, breaking the traditional conception of women’s painting as a “lady’s pastime in the home rather than a full-time job on which her entire livelihood might depend.” [1] Not only that, Bonheur did not stay home to paint subject matter usually associated with women painters, such as flowers and domestic animals. Rather, she went outside, sketching barn animals and studiing their anatomy, even frequenting slaughterhouses at a time when “few women and certainly no ladies would ordinarily dream of setting their dainty feet”[2] in such places. When Bonheur went outside to work, she often wore “trousers, workingman’s smock, felt hat, and heavy boots.”[3] At the time, she could have been arrested, since it was illegal for women to wear men’s clothing without police permission. Bonheur was one of only twelve women who were able to obtain a cross-dressing permit in the 1850s.
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Rosa Bonheur was most well-known for her painting entitled “The Horse Fair.” She became instantly popular in America when this painting was shown in New York in 1858. Her notoriety was such that in the 1860s, Rosa Bonheur dolls were produced and became very popular among Victorian girls.
Bonheur was open about her sexuality as a lesbian and had two long-term partners. First, Bonheur lived with Nathalie Micas for forty years until Micas’ death, and then later with Anna Klumpke, an American artist 34 years Bonheur’s junior who was also her portraitist and biographer. Thus, not only did Bonheur pave the way for many women artists, but also for lesbian artists. (Texts summarized from Rosa Bonheur : the artist's (auto)biography)
Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) Creator: Bisson, Louis-Auguste, 1814 - 1876 Paris, France Albumen silver print on card, Cartes-de-visite 9 x 5.8 cm HOLLIS Number: FAL281616 Fine Arts Library Special Collections
Rosa Bonheur : the artist's (auto)biography Rosa Bonheur. English Anna Klumpke ; translated by Gretchen van Slyke. Author: Klumpke, Anna, 1856-1942. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, c1997. xxxviii, 295 p., 8 p. of plates: ill.; 24 cm. English HOLLIS number: 990074182560203941
Horse fair Bonheur, Rosa, 1822-1899, French Date: 1852-1855 Oil on canvas 244.5 x 506.7 cm. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York, United States 87.25 HOLLIS Number: olvwork11023
[1] Rosa Bonheur: The Artist’s (Auto)Biography. Anna Klumpke. Page xxx [2] Page xxxi [3] Page xxxi
