Rosa Bonheur: Drawings & Paintings (Annotated) E-Book

Raya Yotova

• Herausgeber: Publisher s13381
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Bonheur can be seen as a symbol of the 19th century "New Woman"; at a time when women were looking at a certain amount of neglect, she demonstratively decided to wear pants, shirts, and ties. The wearing of men's clothing gave Bonheur an identity, allowing her openly to show that she refused to adapt to the social biases of the society at that time. In her life she had two women intimate partners; the first she lived for forty years, and the second entered her life after the death of her first partner. After she had chosen to never become an add-on or appendage to a man, she decided in principle that she would be her boss and that she could lean on herself and her talents. Bonheur's legacy paved the way for other female artists who did not compromise their autonomy and the prejudice of society towards women.  

Leseprobe

Rosa Bonheur

Drawings & Paintings (Annotated)

Annotated by Raya Yotova

––––––––

First Edition

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Copyright © 2019 Annotated by Raya Yotova

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Foreword

Paintings and Drawings

Foreword

Rosa Bonheur was native from Bordeaux, France, the biggest child in the family of artists. Her mother was a piano teacher; she died when Rosa was eleven. Her father was a landscape painter and portrait artist who encouraged her daughter's creative talents. Although of Jewish origin, the Bonheur family adhered to Saint-Simonianism, a Christian-socialist sect that promotes women's education on a par with men.

Rosa Bonheur moved to Paris at six years of age with her mother and her brothers and sisters, and her father went before them to establish their domicile and income. Her mother taught her to read by giving her the choice and drawing of a different animal for each letter of the alphabet. Already as a famous artist, Rosa Bonheur admits that she owes her love to paint animals exactly on these reading lessons with her mother. Her father encouraged Rosa to pursue her interest in an animal drawing by bringing live animals to the family study studio. Following the traditional curriculum of the art schools of that period, Rosa began her studies by copying a painting and sketching models. At fourteen she began to copy paintings in the Louvre. Among her favorite artists were Nicholas Poussin and Peter Paul Rubens. She studied animal anatomy and osteology by observing animal dissection at the National Veterinary Institute in Paris. There she prepared detailed studies and drawings, which she later used as references to her paintings and sculptures.

A French government commission brought Rosa's first significant success in 1849, awarding her first prize for her painting. Her most famous work, the monumental oil painting entitled The Horse Fair, was completed in 1855 and brought her international recognition. After that she traveled to Scotland and met there with Queen Victoria, who delighted in Rosa's work.

In Scotland, she made many of her sketches for later works. These drawings depict the way of life in the Scottish mountains.

Rosa Bonheur exhibited her work with great success at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.

Although she was more popular in England than in her native France, Rosa was awarded the French Legion of Honor by the Empress Eugénie in 1865 and was promoted to the Officer of the Order in 1894. She was the first woman receiving this prize.

In 1859, her success allowed her to move close to Fontainebleau, not far from Paris, where she had lived for the rest of her life.

Bonheur can be seen as a symbol of the 19th century "New Woman"; at a time when women were looking at a certain amount of neglect, she demonstratively decided to wear pants, shirts, and ties. The wearing of men's clothing gave Bonheur an identity, allowing her openly to show that she refused to adapt to the social biases of the society at that time.

In her life she had two women intimate partners; the first she lived for forty years, and the second entered her life after the death of her first partner. After she had chosen to never become an add-on or appendage to a man, she decided in principle that she would be her boss and that she could lean on herself and her talents. Bonheur's legacy paved the way for other female artists who did not compromise their autonomy and the prejudice of society towards women.

Rosa Bonheur died on 25 May 1899 at the age of 77.

Paintings and Drawings

Sheet of Studies for "The Horse Fair", 1840-99, Black chalk and graphite, 18.4 x 41.1 cm

A Shepherdess with a Goat and Two Cows in a Meadow

1842-45, Oil on canvas, 32.4 × 45.7 cm