Estimated Price:

   £   

Realised Price:

   £   

What is this symbol? This symbol indicates that this auction hose has verified this price result.

Log in or subscribe to view price data

*ROSA BONHEUR (FRENCH, 1822-99) THE DUEL signed and dated Rosa Bonheur 1895 (lower left) oil on canvas 59 by 96 in. 149.9 by 243.8 cm. "I am a student of my father and beautiful nature,"claimed Rosa Bonheur. A perceptive observer of nature throught her entire life, she applied her meticulous draftsmanship to capture the splendor of the plant and animal kingdoms. Her dedication to the Realist aesthetic lead her to maintain a small menagerie. In addition, she tirelessly visited the slaughterhouses, a highly unusual practice for a woman of the 19th century. These visits served to supplement her diligent study of animal anatomy and facilitated her interest and desire for authenticity in representing her animal subjects. Bonheur cropped her hair and donned male attire, following the example of female writer George Sand, a literary giant and a great inspiration to the artist. As Rosa Bonheur explained to companion and biographer Anna Klumpke, who questioned her preference for masculine attire, "if you see me dressed as I am, it is not at all with the aim of making myself interesting, as all too many women have tried, but simply in order to facilitate my work. Remember that at a certain period I spent whole days in the slaughterhouses. Indeed you have to love your art in order to live in pools of blood...I was also fascinated with horses, and where better can one study these animals than at the fairs? I had no alternative but to realize that the garments of my own sex were a total nuisance." Bonheur enjoyed great success at the Paris Salons, receiving both critical and popular acclaim. One of her greatest triumphs came with her masterpiece The Horse Fair, now at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which she based in large part on drawings done at the horse market near La Salpetriere. This 1853 Paris Salon entry changed her career fundamentally and facilitated her rise to prominence. In the present work, Bonheur represents a notorious battle scene from the British Stud Book. Th