1870s–90s
Rosa Bonheur was among the most accomplished female painters of the 19th century, a time when women were typically not encouraged to pursue fine arts as a profession. Bonheur never married and lived openly as a lesbian. She is remembered for her realist animal paintings and highly detailed bronze animal sculptures.
Bonheur was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1822. Her mother died when she was just 11. Her father, a painter, believed in female education and supported her artistic pursuits. He oversaw Bonheur’s painting education after her unsuccessful apprenticeship as a seamstress.
Bonheur rose to prominence relatively early in her career. In 1848, the French government commissioned a piece for an exhibition at the Paris Salon. The resulting painting, Ploughing in the Nivernais, is today in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. Around this time, she began a relationship with fellow artist Nathalie Micas. The pair remained together for the rest of Micas’s life.
Bonheur’s most famous painting, The Horse Fair, was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1853 and completed in 1855. It is a depiction of the horse market, where Bonheur went twice a week for a year and a half to work on her sketches. She applied for a police permit to wear men’s clothing for comfort and to dissuade attention. The painting, which measures eight feet across, is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In 1855, Bonheur’s art dealer introduced her work to the United Kingdom, where her art proved even more popular than in her home country. Her financial success allowed her to move to a large property near Fontainebleau, France, in 1859, where she lived for the rest of her life. It has since been renamed Château de Rosa Bonheur and includes a museum dedicated to her work.
Bonheur was awarded the decoration of the French Legion of Honour in 1865 and was promoted to Officer of the Order in 1894, becoming the first female artist to receive the honor. In 1893, she exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Bonheur died in 1899 at the age of 77. She was buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery next to Nathalie Micas.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Rosa Bonheur’s sculptures.
$4,942Sale Price|20% Off
H 17.5 in W 19.5 in
Study Of A Lamb / Sheep Head, 19th Century French School
By Rosa Bonheur
Located in Liphook, GB
Study Of A Lamb / Sheep Head, 19th Century circle of Rosa BONHEUR (1822-1899) Large 19th Century French study of a sheep's head, oil on panel, circle of Rosa Bonheur. Excellent qua...
Oil, Panel
$10,000
H 12.25 in W 19.38 in
Highlands Sheep; A finished study from the Highlands Series
By Rosa Bonheur
Located in Middletown, NY
A finished primary study for Bonheur's major oil paintings of the late 1850s, capturing the quiet, unadorned dignity of animals in their native environment. Circa 1855. Graphite and...
Handmade Paper, Graphite, Crayon
$13,729Sale Price|20% Off
H 46 in W 54 in
Study Of Farm Birds, 17th Century
By Melchior d'Hondecoeter
Located in Liphook, GB
Study Of Farm Birds, 17th Century attributed to Melchior DE HONDECOETER (1636-1695) Huge 17th century Dutch Old Master still life of various farm birds, oil on canvas attributed t...
Canvas, Oil
$1,884
H 7.09 in W 11.82 in
Studies of Sheep and Goat Heads, Cairo (c. 1871)
By Egron Sellif Lundgren
Located in Stockholm, SE
This sheet features four close-up studies focusing on the heads of goats or sheep. Each animal’s head is drawn from a different angle: one profile highlights a pair of curved horns, ...
Paper, Watercolor
$1,884
H 8.86 in W 8.27 in
Goats and Sheep in Various Poses, Cairo (c. 1871)
By Egron Sellif Lundgren
Located in Stockholm, SE
This study presents multiple views of goats and sheep drawn across a single sheet. Lundgren depicts the animals in different poses – a light-colored goat standing in profile, a dark ...
Paper, Watercolor
Studies of Goats and Sheep, Cairo (c. 1871)
By Egron Sellif Lundgren
Located in Stockholm, SE
Swedish artist Egron Lundgren sketched a small herd of goats and sheep resting together in this scene. Two goats recline quietly at the center while another stands nearby, creating a...
Paper, Watercolor
$4,393
H 22 in W 27 in D 3 in
Mid-19th Century Oil on Panel of Sheep and Lamb, Barbizon School
Located in St. Albans, GB
Edouard Woutermaertens A wonderful example of one of Belgium's most highly collected animal painters work. Painted on a beautiful panel it is signed and inscribed by the artist on t...
Oil
Painting of sheep in a barn by D. van Lokhorst, 19th century
Located in MILL, NL
Painting of sheep in the barn Dirk Peter van Lokhorst (1818–1893) Signed and dated 1885 Title: Peaceful in the barn Oil on canvas Inscription: D van Lokhorst, te Utrecht Lange Viest...
Canvas
$4,299
H 10.04 in W 12.6 in
Sheep Resting in a Meadow by Francois (Frans) Van Severdonck, 1861, Signed
Located in Stockholm, SE
Francois (Frans) Van Severdonck (1809-1889) Belgian Sheep Resting in a Meadow signed Franc..? Van Severdonck and dated 1861 oil on panel panel size 16 x 23 cm frame 25.5 x 32 cm ...
Oil, Wood Panel
$63,608
H 13.63 in W 17.88 in
Bird Study, a painting on panel by the Studio of Jan Brueghel the Younger
Located in PARIS, FR
We would like to thank Dr. Ursula Härting for confirming that this painting belongs to the studio of Jan Brueghel the Younger, by means of a certificate issued on December 12, 2024. This rare study, executed directly with a brush on a prepared wood panel without any prior drawing, features some twenty birds, most of them domesticated. It is a fascinating testimony to the transmission of forms created by Jan Brueghel the Elder...
Oak, Oil
