Study for The Horse Fair

Rosa Bonheur's study for The Horse Fair (1853, Metropolitan Museum of Art) relates to her most celebrated painting, a monumental depiction of the horse market on the Boulevard de l'Hôpital in Paris. Bonheur, who obtained police permission to wear men's clothing to sketch at the market, became the most famous female painter of the nineteenth century. The finished painting toured internationally to enormous acclaim.

This oil study captures the dynamic movement of horses with vigorous, rapid brushwork that preserves the energy of direct observation. The palette emphasizes earth tones with bold gestural strokes defining equine anatomy and motion.