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Rosa Bonheur: A Life and a Legend
Book by Ashton, Dore
- GenresArtBiographyNonfiction
206 pages, Hardcover
First published April 7, 1981
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33 people want to read
About the author
Dore Ashton
178 books14 followersDore Ashton (1928, – January 30, 2017) was a writer, professor and critic of modern and contemporary art. She was the author or editor of more than thirty books on art.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 4, 2021
Rosa Bonheur was a French painter born in 1822 and died in 1899. She lived through turbulent periods of French history – socially, culturally and artistically.
She was a naturalist painter of horses, dogs, goats and many other animals – at the end of her life she had quite a menagerie including lions!
The author gives us an excellent depiction of her upbringing in France – she was born in Bordeaux and moved to Paris at the age of seven. Her father was also an artist and politically active. He encouraged Rosa in her artistic pursuits. Her siblings (a sister and two brothers) were also artistic.
The Horse Fair, 1855
Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York City
This painting vaulted Rosa Bonheur to fame
Rosa started to exhibit at the Paris Salons which eventually led to success. After she dealt exclusively with agents rather than exhibitions. Through them she made contacts with the wealthy of France, England and the United States. They would visit her atelier and purchase her paintings.
She was a staunch individualist and often dressed in man’s apparel. She would visit slaughter houses to gain insight on anatomy. She was likely gay – she lived with a woman Natalie and was very distraught when she died in 1889. She then met an American, Anna Klumpke who wrote her biography.
Rosa Bonheur had her detractors - some artists said she lacked innovation (or disparaged her because she made money – quite common in the art community where some frown on those who are making a successful living), some disliked her because she was a woman (and an unmarried one at that) who was transgressing into the male world of creative art, others because she sold her art to non-francophones, namely in England and America where she was very popular. Still, she did have many admirers in both France and elsewhere.
This is a very well-rounded presentation of the life of Rosa Bonheur, of her family and friends, and the dynamic French culture and environment surrounding her. This book is now out of print and sadly all of the reproductions of her paintings are in black-and-white.
Ploughing in Nivernais, 1848 Musée Orsay, Paris
She was a naturalist painter of horses, dogs, goats and many other animals – at the end of her life she had quite a menagerie including lions!
The author gives us an excellent depiction of her upbringing in France – she was born in Bordeaux and moved to Paris at the age of seven. Her father was also an artist and politically active. He encouraged Rosa in her artistic pursuits. Her siblings (a sister and two brothers) were also artistic.
The Horse Fair, 1855
Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York City
This painting vaulted Rosa Bonheur to fame
Rosa started to exhibit at the Paris Salons which eventually led to success. After she dealt exclusively with agents rather than exhibitions. Through them she made contacts with the wealthy of France, England and the United States. They would visit her atelier and purchase her paintings.
She was a staunch individualist and often dressed in man’s apparel. She would visit slaughter houses to gain insight on anatomy. She was likely gay – she lived with a woman Natalie and was very distraught when she died in 1889. She then met an American, Anna Klumpke who wrote her biography.
Rosa Bonheur had her detractors - some artists said she lacked innovation (or disparaged her because she made money – quite common in the art community where some frown on those who are making a successful living), some disliked her because she was a woman (and an unmarried one at that) who was transgressing into the male world of creative art, others because she sold her art to non-francophones, namely in England and America where she was very popular. Still, she did have many admirers in both France and elsewhere.
This is a very well-rounded presentation of the life of Rosa Bonheur, of her family and friends, and the dynamic French culture and environment surrounding her. This book is now out of print and sadly all of the reproductions of her paintings are in black-and-white.
Ploughing in Nivernais, 1848 Musée Orsay, Paris
March 21, 2013
Excellent book on the life of Rosa Bonheur. A french painter and sculptor, she was known most for her animals paintings and was very talented at a very young age. She was a successful FEMALE painter and sold her "The Horse Fair" to millionaire Cornelius Vanderbilt for $53,600 in 1853 -- a record price at that time. I like how she dressed as a man (pants) since she was out in the fields painting cattle, etc. She had a long and wonderful life, she lived with a childhood friend. She was a fan of Courbet, Millet and George Sands. I have her autobiography to read which I'm sure will have much more detail. The images of her paintings are fantastic, she really knew how to capture light and nature.
May 3, 2017
I had never heard of Rosa Bonheur until I visited Sudley House (http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/su...) in Liverpool. They have a couple of large paintings of rural life (plowing with Oxen etc) by her and one by her brother, Auguste. I was blown away by the paintings and wanted to find out more about her. This book does the job nicely. It is illustrated (in Black and White) and tells of her life and her career as an artist.
She was raised by an artist father (her mother died when she was twelve or thirteen) along with two brothers and a sister - who all became artists of varying fame - though Rosa was by far the most eminent. In turbulent times for France (one failed revolution, an invasion and occupation, a successful revolution) she rose to prominence with her pictures of animals and rural life. She became immensely popular in England and America but as she did so, her star faded in France.
In her personal life she was (probably) a lesbian, living with her companion Natalie Micas until Natalie's death. She then took another companion, Anna Klumpe, who wrote or edited an Autobiography of Rosa (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...) - which is my next read.
A fascinating woman who left some great paintings. If you don't fancy the books, why not go and see the paintings?
She was raised by an artist father (her mother died when she was twelve or thirteen) along with two brothers and a sister - who all became artists of varying fame - though Rosa was by far the most eminent. In turbulent times for France (one failed revolution, an invasion and occupation, a successful revolution) she rose to prominence with her pictures of animals and rural life. She became immensely popular in England and America but as she did so, her star faded in France.
In her personal life she was (probably) a lesbian, living with her companion Natalie Micas until Natalie's death. She then took another companion, Anna Klumpe, who wrote or edited an Autobiography of Rosa (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...) - which is my next read.
A fascinating woman who left some great paintings. If you don't fancy the books, why not go and see the paintings?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews