The Prize Winning Draft Horse, Vismes-Au-Mont
The Prize Winning Draft Horse, Vismes-Au-Mont

On view

European Art
William R. Elfers Gallery

The Prize Winning Draft Horse, Vismes-Au-Mont,

1860

Adrien Tournachon, 1825–1903; born and died Paris, France
x1994-54

Bonheur was renowned for her skillful depictions of animals. Influenced by earlier artists such as Delacroix—similarly famous for his depictions of horses and lions—Bonheur meticulously studied animals from life, making countless studies and sketches, including the two on view here. To support this practice, she kept a personal menagerie with her life partner, Nathalie Micas, which included horses, sheep, deer, a gazelle, and even lions. She also worked from photographs like Tournachon’s, which comes from a publication of prize-winning horses from a competition in 1860. Photography and print were both deployed in making knowledge about animals widely available. Around 1861, Bonheur and her brother Isidore, a famed animal sculptor, worked from Tournachon’s photographs to illustrate an encyclopedia of cattle breeds published by the French Ministry of Agriculture.

Information

Title
The Prize Winning Draft Horse, Vismes-Au-Mont
Dates

1860

Maker
Adrien Tournachon
Medium
Salted paper print
Dimensions
18.1 x 23.9 cm. (7 1/8 x 9 7/16 in.) mount: 30.3 x 41.2 cm (11 15/16 x 16 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, gift of the Florence Gould Foundation
Object Number
x1994-54
Inscription
Numbered twice in negative 482, printed on mount Phot. d'après nature par Tournachon Jne. ["ne" in superscript"] / VISMES-AU-MONT, / Né en 1857_Son père et sa mère de Race Boulonnaise, [italicized] / 1r. ["r" in superscript] PRIX DES POULAINS, Race Boulonnaise de gros trait. [italicized]";
Culture
French
Type
photographs, black-and-white photographs
Subject
horses, men, portraits

The artist. Acquired by Gérard Lévy, after 1933; acquired by Charles Isaacs, Malvern, PA and Robert Hershkowitz, after 1951; purchased by the Princeton University Art Museum, 1994 [1].

Notes:

[1]. Previously owned jointly by Isaacs and Hershkowitz.

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