Turc montant a cheval (Turk mounting a horse),

1828

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.