Illustrated letter to M. Roland
1840–99
Medium
Pen and brown ink on machine-laid paper
Dimensions
8 1/8 x 10 5/8 in. (20.6 x 27.0 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Jane Roberts, in honor of Karen B. Cohen, 2000
Accession Number
2000.631
Tags
About this artwork
This illustrated letter by Rosa Bonheur offers an intimate glimpse into the working methods and personality of nineteenth-century Europe's most celebrated female artist. Created sometime between 1840 and 1899 and addressed to M. Roland, the letter demonstrates Bonheur's practice of incorporating sketches and visual elements into her correspondence, blending written communication with artistic expression. Bonheur achieved unprecedented success for a woman artist, becoming the first female officer...
Art Historical Context
Rosa Bonheur's *Illustrated Letter to M. Roland*, created sometime between 1840 and1899, offers a charming window into the daily life of one of 19th-century Europe's most female artists. Penned in brown ink on machine-laid, this intimate correspondence blends heartfelt words with spontaneous sketches, showcasing Bonheur's habit of weaving art into her personal communications. At just 8⅛ × 10⅝ inches, it's a modest yet revealing artifact from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints collection. Bonheur, a trailblazing Realist painter, rose to fame with monumental works like *The Ho...
About the Artist
Rosa Bonheur · 1822–1899
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