# Study for The Horse Fair

**Rosa Bonheur** (French, 1822–1899)  
c. 1850  
Oil on canvas  
43.2 × 87 cm (17 × 34 1/2 in.); Framed: 69.3 × 111.8 × 10.2 cm (27 1/4 × 44 × 4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1977.3. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/93781).

## About this work

A dozen horses circle in procession, some ridden and some led, sketched in greys and blacks in this oil study for Rosa Bonheur’s celebrated painting The Horse Fair. To prepare the huge canvas, Bonheur spent many months drawing at the Paris horse market, dressed in men’s clothing, for which she obtained police permission, so that she could work without attracting attention. Studies like this let her work out the movement and rhythm of the composition before tackling colour.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Rosa Bonheur painted this in about 1850, aged about 23. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A sketchy black-and-white oil painting of a dozen horses walking in a circle, some with riders. All of the figures are shadowy.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Rosa Bonheur](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/rosa-bonheur)

French, 1822–1899; born in Bordeaux; died in Thomery

Bonheur trained with her father, the painter Raymond Bonheur, and studied animals closely in fields, markets and slaughterhouses, obtaining police permission to wear trousers for the purpose. The Horse Fair, shown at the Salon of 1853, brought her international fame, and she became the most celebrated woman artist of her day and the first to receive the Legion of Honour for her art. She lived and worked for decades at By, near Fontainebleau, in the commune of Thomery.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: France
- The artist was about 23
- Real size: about 17 × 34 in (43 × 87 cm). The 24 × 36 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: horses, animals, figures, man, men, sketch, study, 19th century
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/252.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/252/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/study-for-the-horse-fair-aic-93781).