catalog text
ROSA BONHEUR
French, 1822-1899
"Boeuf Couché" (Resting Bull)
Patinated bronze | Signed "Rosa B" | conceived 1846, a lifetime cast
Item # 110MCO16W
The original model for Boeuf Couché by Rosa Bonheur was conceived in 1846 as a study for her first major painting Le Boeufs du Cantal and was also executed in charcoal on paper the same year. An identical example of this model is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
This exceedingly rare model is a most pleasing study of this sensitive beast; the present sand-cast example is an exquisite casting with intricate detail and rich texture captured directly from the original mold with self-evident fidelity, all elements chiseled and chased by the foundry with utmost precision with no cold-tooling of the surfaces noted. The result is a silky smooth surface with a complex patina gradient from reddish-oxide to golden-bronze and darker browns.
Artist Listings & Bibliography:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acc no. 39.65.62 a/b, Peyrol stamped, 14.6 cm x 28.9 cm
- "Rosa Bonheur: Sa Vie, Son Oeuvre", Léon Rodger-Milés, Lyon, 1901: showing both the sculpture executed by Peyrol and original charcoal drawing of the same
- "Bronzes of the 19th Century", Pierre Kjellberg, p. 106-7
Measurements: 11 1/4” W x 7 1/8” D x 5 5/8” H (28.9 cm x 18 cm x 14.6 cm)
Condition Report:
Some minor handling wear to the tip of the bull's hip, the tip of the tail, some trace wear to raised foliage/elements of the base and some light wear around the edges of the base. A fine presentation.