Rosa Bonheur

the long version

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.