Marie-Rosalie (Rosa ) Bonheur
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EARLY YEARSRosa was born on the 16th March 1822 at Bordeaux, the eldest of four children born to Raymond Bonheur , a painter and drawing master and his wife a music teacher, before she could walk she would amuse herself with a pencil and a piece of paper.
Writing of her childhood she has said" I refused formally to learn to read, but before I was four I already had a passion for drawing." In 1829 the Bonheurs moved to Paris in search of better work. In 1830 the revolution had an adverse effect on raymond Bonheur who lost most of his pupils and for two years were in dire straits. Just as things were beginning to look up Madame Bonheur died. The eleven year old Rosa was sent off to live with an Aunt, she was unhappy and soon returned. Raymond did his best to dissuade her from following in his footsteps and had her apprenticed to a seamstress, it lasted all of twelve days. She was next placed in the charge of his friends the Bissons to paint family crests, which she enjoyed. Soon after she was returned to school but was promptly expelled for unruly behaviour. Raymond finally relented and fitted a room in their home so she could have her own studio. LE LABOURAGE 1844
Serious StudyRaymond decided she should study art seriously and for a time was a pupil of Leon Cogniet the historical and portrait painter,but she prefered to follow her own path.
She spent a great deal of time in the Louvre, sketching there and copying the works of old masters. In her teens her masculinity was self evident and she developed the eccentric habits for which she was later renowned, she also formed an association with Natalie Micas with whom she lived for fifty years. In 1841 Raymond married again and the family moved to the outer suburbs of Paris where Rosa could study nature first hand. |
EXHIBITINGAt the age of 19 in 1841 she submitted her first pictures to the Salon, although accepted they excited no comment.
The following year she sent three paintings and a sculpture which received considerable attention In 1843 she again exhibited both media, all her work sold enabling her to go into the country and study closely from nature, with the result she sent five pictures to the Salon in 1844, all of which enhanced her growing reputation In 1845 she sent six animal and landscape paintings and two animal sculptures. Over the next four years she continued to exhibit with great success and received many compliments and awards. A WAGON AND TEAM OF HORSES, OIL ON CANVAS, 1852
THE HORSE FAIRThe Horse Fair of 1853 marks the turning point in her career and was destined to make her famous not only in France but also in Britain and America.
In preparation for this painting she attended horse fairs disguised in male attire, this is the first time she paraded it openly and obtained permission from the prefect of Police in Paris to wear male clothing, but this did not save her from arrest on at least one occasion. From then on until her death she seldom wore anything else. The painting was exhibited in Ghent and Bordeaux. Queen Victoria expressed a wish to see it and Thomas Lndseer made an engraving of it which sold in large numbers. The painting then went on tour in Britain, encouraged by the reception it received Rosa came to Britain in 1856. Her output during the last forty years of her life was phenomonal but it cannot be denied that her art suffered proportinately. She never again produced a canvas the equal of The Horse Fair |
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THE HORSE FAIR
1853
RELAY HUNTING, OIL ON CANVAS, 1887