Bonheur, Rosa “The Horse Fair”

Rosa Bonheur (1822-99).  “The Horse Fair.” 

Buffalo: Niagara Lithograph Company, ca. 1896+.  Chromolithograph.  Large margins.  Three repaired tears in margins with two just into image.  Minute hole in image filled and in-painted.  Light cockling (wave) of paper.  Else, very good condition.  

A fine equestrian print by one of the leading animal artists of the mid-nineteenth century. Rosa Bonheur was a popular French artist, who exhibited frequently in the Paris Salons of 1841 and onward.  She succeeded where few women did in the nineteenth century.  Her main interest was in dramatic animal portraiture.  She got her inspiration studying in parks and zoos around Paris.  Her talents were recognized by Queen Victoria, who became one of her leading patrons.  This powerful print is a good example of her strengths as an artist.  This is clearly seen in the muscular definition of the horses.  The original painting can be viewed in the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.