Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899)

Rosa Bonheur, Labourage nivernais : le sombrage, 1849, Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899) is a major retrospective of the artist’s work organised on the occasion of the bicentenary of her birth in Bordeaux. It is the result of a partnership between the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, the Château Musée Rosa Bonheur in Thomery (Seine-et-Marne), where the artist lived for almost half a century, and the Musée départemental des peintres de Barbizon.

Known as an icon of women's emancipation, Rosa Bonheur placed the living world at the heart of her work and her existence. She was committed to the recognition of animals in their singularity and sought through her work to express their vitality and their “soul.” Through her great technical mastery, she was able to render both animal anatomy and psychology.

The exhibition allows the public to (re)discover the power and richness of her work, with approximately 200 works (paintings, graphic arts, sculptures, and photographs) from the most prestigious public and private collections in Europe and the United States. Visit the exhibition website for more information about the artist and her work and a reduced version of the exhibition catalogue.