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1822 - Marie-Rosalie Bonheur was born on the 16th of March. She was a French realist painter and sculptor.
- She was first trained by her father, Raymond Bonheur, an art teacher, and later by Léon Cogniet in Paris.
1841 - Bonheur was a regular Salon exhibitor.
1849 - Exhibited her work, the Horse Ploughing at the Nivernais.
1853-1887 - “The Horse Fair,” one of her Salon pieces exhibited, was acquired by Cornelius Vanderbilt for a record sum and became one of her most widely reproduced works.
- Bonheur was unconventional for her time. She wore trousers, smoked cigarettes, and for a time kept a lioness and would paint only wild animals.
1855 - Completed her most famous work the monumental Horse Fair, which measured 8ft high by 16ft wide.
- She lived for 50 years with her female companion Nathalie Micas at her country estate near Fontainebleau.
1865 - She became the first woman to receive the Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur.
- Toward the end of her career these qualities were accentuated by a lighter palette and the use of a highly polished surface finish reminiscent of the famed 17th-century Dutch painter of animals, Paulus Potter.
1899 - She died on the 25th of May at the age of 77 in Melun, France.
1900 - Many of her paintings, were sold at auction in Paris.
- She was first trained by her father, Raymond Bonheur, an art teacher, and later by Léon Cogniet in Paris.
1841 - Bonheur was a regular Salon exhibitor.
1849 - Exhibited her work, the Horse Ploughing at the Nivernais.
1853-1887 - “The Horse Fair,” one of her Salon pieces exhibited, was acquired by Cornelius Vanderbilt for a record sum and became one of her most widely reproduced works.
- Bonheur was unconventional for her time. She wore trousers, smoked cigarettes, and for a time kept a lioness and would paint only wild animals.
1855 - Completed her most famous work the monumental Horse Fair, which measured 8ft high by 16ft wide.
- She lived for 50 years with her female companion Nathalie Micas at her country estate near Fontainebleau.
1865 - She became the first woman to receive the Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur.
- Toward the end of her career these qualities were accentuated by a lighter palette and the use of a highly polished surface finish reminiscent of the famed 17th-century Dutch painter of animals, Paulus Potter.
1899 - She died on the 25th of May at the age of 77 in Melun, France.
1900 - Many of her paintings, were sold at auction in Paris.
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