Shorn Sheep - Bronze By Rosa Bonheur (1822 - 1899)

Rosa Bonheur (1822 - 1899)
Shorn Sheep
Bronze with brown patina
H.: 14 cm; W.: 21.7 cm; D. 10.6 cm
Signed “Rosa B” on the base
Stamp “Comptoir français d'Art”
Old cast bronze, circa 1925

This model probably dates back from 1842, when the artist presented a terracotta of Shorn Sheep at the Salon. Rosa Bonheur was fond of this subject, which she often represented in painting. In sculpture, we know of another model of a Sheep, which appears lying down, and a sketch of a Standing Sheep.

During her lifetime, Rosa Bonheur's bronzes were cast by her brother-in-law, François Hippolyte Peyrol (1832 – 1921). The Comptoir français d'Art, which created this font, worked with Peyrol for a long time before acquiring the workshop and the rights around 1927. We find traces of this collaboration between the two companies from 1924, notably in advertising inserts highlighting the names of Rosa and Isidore Bonheur ("The Chicago Tribune", 1924; "Le Gaulois", 1925; "Excelsior: journal illustré quotidien", 1928).

Literature

– S. Buratti-Hasan and L. Jarbouai (eds.), Rosa Bonheur (1822 – 1899), cat. exhibition “Rosa Bonheur (1822 – 1899)” at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Bordeaux from May 18 to September 18, 2022 and at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris from October 18, 2022 to January 15, 2023, Paris: Flammarion, 2022, p. 45 (repr.).

- C. Payne, Animals in bronze. Reference and Price Guide, Woodbridge (Suffolk) : Antique Collectors’ Club, p. 371, cat. S6 (repr.).