The Horse Fair1852–55
Powerful Percheron horses rear, plunge and trot as their handlers struggle to control them at the Paris horse market, held on a tree-lined boulevard near the Salpêtrière hospital, whose dome appears in the distance. More about this work
About this work
Powerful Percheron horses rear, plunge and trot as their handlers struggle to control them at the Paris horse market, held on a tree-lined boulevard near the Salpêtrière hospital, whose dome appears in the distance. Rosa Bonheur, the most famous woman artist of her day, showed the huge canvas at the Salon of 1853 and continued to work on it afterwards. To study her subject she sketched at the market for many months, wearing men’s clothing, for which she had police permission. The procession of muscular horses has often been compared to the frieze of the Parthenon.
Written by Ochre Editions.
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
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.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Met has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 87.25
- Credit
- Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Type
- Paintings
- Department
- European Paintings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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