1822 -1899 · Bordeaux, Paris, By-Thomery and animal painting

Scientific observation, powerful drawing and personal independence made Rosa Bonheur the great animal painter of the 19th century.

Marie-Rosalie Bonheur was born in Bordeaux in 1822 and died in By-Thomery in 1899. Trained by her father Raymond Bonheur, painter and professor, she copied masters at the Louvre and studied animals very early in markets, slaughterhouses, farms and menageries. She started at the Salon in 1841 and obtained spectacular recognition with Labourage Nivernais in 1849, then Le Marché aux chevaux. Bonheur refused to reduce the animal to a sentimental accessory. She observed anatomy, movement, character and relationship to the environment with a rigor close to natural science. A sleuth lighter and dog study show this attention to breeds and attitudes. The King of the Forest transforms it deer in sovereign presence without making it human. Herd of sheep by the sea combines collective observation, coastal light and the scale of the landscape. Famous in France, England and the United States, Bonheur gained rare autonomy for a woman of her time. Famous in France, England and the United States, Bonheur gained rare autonomy for a woman of her time. She obtained cross-dressing permission to wear pants in certain workplaces, directed the Free Drawing School for Young Girls and in 1865 became the first female artist decorated with the Legion of Honor. Installed in 1859 at the Château de By, near Fontainebleau, she lived surrounded by animals and in 1865 became the first female artist decorated with the Legion of Honor. Installed in 1859 at the Château de By, near Fontainebleau, she lived surrounded by animals and in 1865 became the first female artist decorated with the Legion of Honor. Installed in 1859 at the Château de By, near Fontainebleau, she lived surrounded by animals and in 1865 became the first female artist decorated with the Legion of Honor. Installed in 1859 at the Château de By, near Fontainebleau, she lived surrounded by animals and alive becomes a way of doing him justice. The "Rosa Bonheur" selection notably compares A Silt Lighter and The King of the Forest. His reading favors the story.

Rosa Bonheur does not attribute human feelings to animals: she looks at them long enough to reveal their own presence.