"The epithets of imbeciles have never bothered me."
                                         —Marie-Rosalie Bonheur


Women don't paint wildlife well—haven't you heard?

Nor do they understand the sporting life, nor are they talented enough to capture the true noble gestures of horses, dogs, farm animals and practically anything else that moves.

Nor are they the equal measure of men.

If you are the kind of 21st century boor who embraces such nonsense, welcome to the club that tried unsuccessfully to put French painter Rosa Bonheur in her subservient, obsequious place—holding an attitude that remains a pox on Western art, wildlife art, and still resides under the surface of the art world cognoscenti in general.  One of the most common complaints we hear in America is how chauvinism still lingers in art organizations long affiliated, for example, with the celebration of cowboys and Indians.

The fact cannot be denied that, for centuries, the history of art in the West (Old and New Worlds) has been told from the point of view of white men of European ancestry. In this installment of Wildlife Art Journal's Art Video Of The Week, we honor Bonheur, a Realist, whom many have dubbed "the greatest woman painter of the 19th century."

The title is invoked here not to demean, but to remind readers that the classification itself speaks to the kind of challenges Bonheur confronted during her time (1822-1899) in the Victorian era—besides the usual formidible obstacles of simply trying to be a great painter, true to oneself, making resonant art.  Besides being a liberated woman, she felt no shame painting animals and was a proud member of the French movement known as Les Animaliers, perhaps best recognized in North America for its distinguished group of sculptors. (Yes, Bonheur also worked in bronze.)

Further worth noting is that, from afar, Bonheur loved the American West, having become smitten with it as a region after seeing both painter George Catlin and William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody during their visits to Paris.  See the portrait she made of Cody, below.



This is part of the biographical sketch of Bonheur offered by the National Museum of Wildlife Art in the US: 

"'At one time Rosa Bonheur had a complete menagerie in her home: a lion and lioness, a stag, a wild sheep, a gazelle, horses, etc. One of her pets was a young lion whom she allowed to run about and often romped with.... I was easier in mind when this leonine pet gave up the ghost'— So wrote a close friend of Rosa Bonheur in recalling the artist's passion for animals. The artist received special dispensation from the police to wear trousers and a smock to visit butcher shops and slaughterhouses. It was in these gritty locales that she closely studied animal anatomy. Bonheur also wore her hair short, rode astride, smoked cigarettes in public, and achieved a successful career as an animalier, demonstrating her independent spirit."

Among the institutions where Bonheur's work is in the permanent collection: The Louvre; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; National Gallery, London;  Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, Spain;  Metropolitan Museum of Art;  Cleveland Museum of Art;  National Museums, Liverpool; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux;  National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen; Art Institute of Chicago; National Museum of Women In Arts, Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Dahesh Museum, NYC; Art Gallery of Ontario; Indianpolis Museum of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming.

A couple of things to consider before you click on the video, below.  First, a sweet Bonheur painting is featured in our feature story on the National Museum of Wildlife Art.  Secondly, enjoy this look at a contemporary French wildlife painter by clicking here (a story on Laurence Saunois), and here (a story on 10 French and Belgian artists.)