Study of a Dog,

possibly 1860s

Bonheur was renowned for her skillful depictions of animals, particularly horses. She made countless sketches of animals whom she kept in a personal menagerie, including dogs, cows, horses, sheep, deer,a gazelle, and even lions. Though the chariot and rider in the drawing are probably imagined, the dog, horses, and pair of lions in her works on view here likely derive from such drawing sessions after life. Bonheur’s interest in animals was not purely aesthetic. She was an avid equestrian, and she bucked gender conventions by wearing men’s clothing—something for which she and her life partner, Nathalie Micas, obtained police permits—and riding astride rather than sidesaddle as was standard for women at the time. She shared these gender-nonconforming practices with one of her favorite authors, George Sand, whose drawing is on view at left.