The most recent google doodle is of Rosa Bonheur, a great woman and artist in history.
Rosa Bonheur, original name Marie-Rosalie Bonheur, was a French artist that was born 200 years ago in Bordeaux. Rosa was best known as an artist who made paintings of animals and sculptures of realism/ naturalism.
When she was 12 and failed at an apprenticeship with a seamstress, her father began to encourage her to take painting more seriously.
Bonheur studied animal anatomy and osteology in the abattoirs of Paris and dissected animals at the French National Veterinary Institute.
This degree added a good level of authenticity to her paintings of animals.
The Britannica profile of Rosa says, “Towards the end of her career, those qualities were accentuated by a lighter palette and the use of a highly polished surface finish.”
How did Rosa Bonheur die?
Rosa died in 1899, aged 77 in Thomery in the Île-de-France region of north-central France.
A biography by Anna Klumpke said the cause of her death was pulmonary influenza. Anne Klumpke is a young American who used to live with Rosa when she was still alive.
Aljazeera shared that Anna also completed three of Rosa’s portraits after her death.
Pulmonary Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness that affects the lungs. Today, it is called “the flu”. This illness has caused several pandemics since the 1900s.
A bar in Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, in Paris’s 19th arrondissement, is named after Rosa. The ‘Rosa Bonheur guinguette’ is a bar/ cafe that serves tapas and Mediterranean cuisine.
The name could be translated to mean, ‘pink happiness’.
Rosa made many paintings in her lifetime. Some of them include: The Highland Shepherd, A Family of Deer, Changing meadows, The Horse Fair and Ploughing in the Nivernais.
Her painting, ‘Ploughing In The Nivernais’ won a First Medal at the prestigious Salon art exhibition in 1849. She received 3,000 francs for this painting.
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Rachael Obadiaru is a writer who specializes in content writing, copywriting, blogging, and fictional storytelling. She is a feminist and an advocate for the inclusion of marginalized groups. She spends her free time creating a nuisance on Twitter while snacking on pringles and snuggling with her cats.
