Sketches of Cows
n.d.
Medium
Graphite, heightened with white gouache, on pale green wove paper
Dimensions
13.8 × 18.5 cm (5 7/16 × 7 5/16 in.)
Classification
graphite
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
85657
Art Historical Context
Rosa Bonheur's *Sketches of Cows* offers a charming glimpse into the artist's meticulous study of nature, rendered in graphite heightened with white gouache on green wove paper. Measuring just 13.8 × 18.5 cm, this intimate undated drawing from the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings department captures the gentle forms and textures of cows with Bonheur's signature precision. The pale green paper serves as a subtle tonal ground, allowing the graphite lines to define contours while the white gouache adds luminous highlights, evoking the play of light on fur and muscle. As a leading 19th-...
About the Artist
Rosa Bonheur · 1822–1899
Comment on works: animals