Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) was the most famous woman painter of her time, perhaps of all time. The Empress Eugenie came to Bonheur's chateau, By in Thomery, near Fontainebleau, to pin the Legion d'Honneur on her sturdy breast, an event commemorated in a tune by Bizet, and in 1894 the president of the republic raised her to the rank of Officier, the first woman to be so honored.
Queen Victoria received her when her epic painting, "The Horse Fair," was shown in England, and Ruskin thought it worth his while to suggest that she try, like him, to paint watercolors and use purple....
The import of the article is that, after being forgotten, really during her own lifetime, her fame is on the rise again now. Her father, also an artist who specialized in painting animal subjects, did not make enough money to prevent an impoverished childhood. According to the same source:
Rosa studied painting with her father and from the age of 14 went to copy paintings at the Louvre since the academies discriminated against women. She copied mostly Dutch masters such as Paulus Potter and in the family flat kept rabbits, birds and sheep (which had to be taken down five flights of stairs to graze in the nearby Plaine Monceau).
Here is a French wild cat she painted.
It was a compliment that her contemporaries said she 'painted like a man.' Her biography suggests she lived according to her own lights.
No comments:
Post a Comment