Rosa Bonheur
Subtitle: the artist's (auto)biography
By: Anna Klumpke ; translated by Gretchen van Slyke.
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 295
Subjects: Bonheur, Rosa, 1822-1899.; Animal painters -- France -- Biography.
Description: Rosa Bonheur: the Artist's (Auto)-Biography brings this extraordinary woman to life, blending Bonheur's first-person account with the memoirs of Anna Klumpke, a young American artist who was Bonheur's last companion and chosen portraitist. Klumpke recounts their first meeting, her growing affection for the much older Bonheur, and her decision to live with the artist.

Bonheur's account of her own life story, set within Klumpke's narrative, sheds light on such currently compelling subjects as gender formation, governmental intervention in the arts, the social and legal regulation of dress codes, and the transgressive nature of same-sex relationships in a repressive society.

The story is further enhanced by a range of illustrations depicting Bonheur's life and times, including Klumpke's affectionate portrait of the artist, and a reproduction of Bonheur's special license from the French police to wear men's clothing.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 286-289) and index.