- 125
Rosa Bonheur
Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 USD
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Description
- Rosa Bonheur
- King of the Forest
signed Rosa Bonheur and dated 1897 (lower left)
- pastel on paper laid down on canvas
- 61 1/8 by 35 3/8 in.
- 155.3 by 89.8 cm
Catalogue Note
In 1897, the year of the creation of the present work, Rosa Bonheur exhibited “four large pastels at the Petit Gallery in Paris and [received] some favorable reviews” (Dore Ashton, Rosa Bonheur, A Life and a Legend, 1981, p. 195). King of the Forest, with its impressive size and commanding subject, was likely created for this exhibition or another that year. Bonheur deftly renders subtle tonal shifts within a limited palette, infusing the evocative nighttime scene with an otherworldly, almost spiritual, quality. Throughout her career, Bonheur often chose to depict lone animals in their native settings and in doing so bestows an air of nobility on her impressive subjects.