catalog text
LATE 19TH CENTURY COPY OF ROSA BONHEUR'S "THE HORSE FAIR"
Oil on canvas, signed lower right somewhat illegibly "A. Lionard (?) D' Rosa Bonheur"
Item # 306TJZ21P
A very nice late 91th century copy of Rosa Bonheur's iconic and extraordinary scene of "The Horse Fair" executed in 1852-1855 and presently held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Obviously a student's reduction and replication of the incredibly dramatic scene, it is actually a quite excellent rendition of the scene. The artist was very careful to note it as being a copy, signing their name followed by "D' Rosa Bonheur" to signify that they were simply copying her work. This would be a rather advanced project for the interplay of light and complexity and motion of the scene are unimaginably difficult to capture - a testament to Rosa Bonheur's absolute genious and certainly a worthy subject to learn from as a budding artist. The scene is most admirably executed with briliant texture and detail throughout - an incredibly pleasing example!
Measurements: 32 5/8" H x 51 7/8" W x 3 5/8" D [frame]; 20 5/8" H x 40" W [canvas]
Condition Report:
Relined; carefully cleaned and sealed in traditional Damar varnish by our conservator; a very fine presentation; under UV examination: rubbing and wear to the extreme edges with associated inpainting in a few areas along the border, inpainting to the sky in several specks and one larger (pencil eraser size) spot in the center of the sky; a vertical line of inpainting along the extreme left edge beside the figure's with the white horse; other minor spots of touch up. Frame is rough with chips and losses throughout, discoloration of the gold paint and overall being worn and tired - frame does not perfectly fit the painting, being just slightly too large to properly cover the edges of the canvas.