Items Similar to Three Bucks in the Fontainebleu Forest
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 22
Rosa BonheurThree Bucks in the Fontainebleu Forest1886
1886
About the Item
Rosa Bonheur was the most famous female artist of the 19th Century.
We are grateful to Annie-Paule Quinsac for confirming the authenticity of this painting.
The work is best viewed with top gallery light to bring out colors
____________________________________________
Rosa Bonheur: Three Bucks in the Fontainebleau Forest, erroneously Stags or Monarchs in the forest
Oil on canvas, 29 x 24 inches [74 x 61cm], signed and dated lower left, Rosa Bonheur 1886
The discovery of this painting, a reinterpretation of Bonheur’s most iconic work Le roi de la Foret, [Monarch in the forest]is a significant event in the artist’s scholarship. In forty years of study, I was not aware of its existence and did not find any reproduction of it throughout my extensive reading. Bought by the present owner at the Stamford Winter Auction in 2008, it had been the property of a certain Captain [ name illegible] until January 29, 1920, or from that date {?}. The label on the back of the canvas reads: “Collection of Captain J.H.Gaucis Jan.29,1920”. [the handwriting on the label is extremely unusual; my deciphering of it induces me to propose this last name, Latvian in origin] […]
This work could not have been offered among the 95 paintings that compose the catalog section titled “Stags, Hinds, Roebucks,” [ NN.320-415] in the catalog of the Rosa Bonheur Posthumous Sale organized by the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris, which included over two thousand pieces kept in the studio and not sold during her life time : it does not correspond to any of the description or measurements given in these catalog entries. The number 5527inscribed in red on the back of the canvas could refer to the painting having be handled by the Knoedler Galerie, Paris and New York, which after Bonheur’s death, that of Ernest Gambart (1814-1902and George Petit, (1856-1920) was instrumental in the continued diffusion of her work in the US, maintaining her prices that had crashed elsewhere in Europe.
Despite difficulties in tracing the provenance history, the attribution to Rosa Bonheur, cannot be denied. Stylistic and iconographic characters are typical of her expressive means in the late 80’s. Also, it cannot be questioned that the calligraphy of signature and date is hers.
The work depicts three male deers- or bucks- of different age, in a trail, deep in the forest at twilight, just after sunset toward the end of Fall. The two big ones, have stopped in their track, facing the beholder frontally; the small one, in profile, seems ready to move in another direction. The umbrella term deer, or the more specific one buck {male deer} could both be used as title to this painting, rather than stag, which implies an old majestic senior male deer, considered the King of the forest also called Monarch. In the Cervidae family, the number of points of a deer’s antler is one of the indicators of age, along with body mass and overall size. In our painting, the most prominent stag is massive and has a twelve points antler – qualifying as Monarch. The one immediately behind him exhibits an eight points antler and appears strong and imposing as well does not possess but not his companion’s poise. It is a mature stag. The last one, slender, shoulders not quite muscular yet, with barely six points to his antler, could not be more than two years old. The intensity of expression of the two older stags and their presence in the landscape which is rendered as their stage, are characteristic of Bonheur’s rapport to animals and nature.
The painting’s varnish has deteriorated and forms a film that will need to be removed through a cautious cleaning. It is particularly important that the transparent haze that evokes the humidity of the forest at that crucial moment of the light be preserved. It contributes to the painting vibrance.
Since 1860, when Rosa Bonheur moved to the Chateau of By, which she had bought with her companion Nathalie Micas, the Fontainebleau Forest which was at a stone through of her property, became ground of studies and the Cervidae a common subject. By then, she would already sketch en plein air, and months or years later, create paintings from start to finish in the studio using the visual material collected while walking through nature or observing animal in their milieu.
Her first image of the Great Monarch in the forest, represented frontally and in a similar forest background is the 1868 painting Le cerf de Saint Hubert [Hubertus’ Stag], an illustration of the legend of Saint Hubertus in which she included a cross between the stag’s antlers. As the story as it, Hubertus was a passionate hunter and would often forget his religious duties to go hunting. On a certain Sunday in the depth of a forest, where he had ventured alone, he began to pursue a stag The animal faced him and while a cross appeared between his antlers, the voice of God was heard, directing him to repent ad respect all animals. Rosa Bonheur was herself a hunter but also a spiritualist, influenced by the Saint Simonian creeds and by spiritism. She believed that certain animals had a soul. I personally think that magnificent monarchs and the St Hubertus’ legend had both a symbolical meaning for her.
Ten years later, 1878, reusing the same setting, she produced one of her most iconic paintings, Le roi de la foret,( The great Monarch). While in the last thirty years of her life, she rarely sent pieces to international exhibitions, trusting her dealers to represent her in all venues, and having accumulated enough of a fortune to be totally independent from the fluctuations of the art market, she exhibited that work at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, indicating by this choice that she considered it one of her major life’s accomplishments. Ernest Gambart, the most sensitive of her dealers, chose the painting for one of the three bronze plaques to be inserted in the base of the monument which he donated to the town of Fontainebleau to be erected in her memory (1904). In this work too, a celestial light seems to be coming from the left of the composition. Very recently the painting was exhibited in occasion of the Retrospective Rosa Bonheur at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and illustrates the catalog cover.
The work in exam is directly related to its illustrious predecessor. Also realized ten years after The great Monarch, in 1886, it is roughly a third smaller in height and twice and a half narrower in width. It repeats the same lighting at dusk and the rendition of the landscape underlines the humidity of an evening in the forest, toward the end of Fall. The great Monarch has an equally inquisitive look than in the 1876 painting, but the two other figures transform the work in a study in stags, as if to illustrate various stages of their development. The harmony between the animal and their habitat is even more striking here. A sense of a nature not fully comprehensible to man emerges. I am convinced that all three works, each distant of ten years from each other, are intimately connected in the message Bonheur wanted to communicate to her collectors and humanity at large, faced by a progressively more industrialized world. Furthermore, Three Bucks in the Fontainebleau is not inferior in emotional intensity or less suggestive of an atmosphere than the previous one. It is baffling to me that it could have remained unknown for so long. It can probably be explained by its belonging to the same collection for a long time, throughout the decades in which Bonheur was snubbed by the critics worldwide.
Dr. Annie-Paule Quinsac
New York, June 20,2023
Best Viewed with top gallery light to bring out colors
- Creator:Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899, French)
- Creation Year:1886
- Dimensions:Height: 29 in (73.66 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Good appearance. This work has recently been restored. The canvas is lined. The work has been cleaned of old varnish and is in very good condition. There is evidence minor localized inpainting and slight craquelure were visible on close inspection.
- Gallery Location:Miami, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU385312833582
About the Seller
4.9
Gold Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are highly rated and consistently exceed customer expectations.
Established in 2005
1stDibs seller since 2016
85 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Miami, FL
- Return Policy
A return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
1stDibs Buyer Protection Guaranteed
If your item arrives not as described, we’ll work with you and the seller to make it right. Learn More
More From This SellerView All
- The Night of the RamBy Eugene BermanLocated in Miami, FLA haunting and mysterious outdoor still life featuring a Ram's head emerging from the daisies and underbrush. Classical statues sit on the horizon line while a sunset faint orange ...Category
1960s Surrealist Animal Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Alaskan Husky Dogs - The Howl of the Malamute - Men's Adventure StoryBy Dan ContentLocated in Miami, FLDaniel Content Painted in the grand tradition of the Golden Age of Illustration, in the style of Dean Cornwell, N.C. Wyeth, J.C Leyendecker ...Category
1930s American Impressionist Animal Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- Astrology Fantasy - "A Love by the Stars" - Sci-Fi Alignment of the PlanetsLocated in Miami, FLHane paints a dreamy fusion of earthy and celestial bodies with circling birds around a central vertical axis. Created on assignment for De Beers' highly published A Diamond is Forever" campaign. "A love by the stars was important. Until the right man of the wrong sign put his star on my finger. And I entered his house with my love. The artist created the painting to be the night ... so it appears a little dark in natural light. Best viewed with a top and key light to bring out the colors. Hane painted the covers of the Collier-Macmillan editions of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia books, as well as such Simon & Schuster publications as Carlos Castaneda's The Teachings of Don Juan and A Separate Reality. In 1963, Hane was hired to do a full-page illustration for Esquire magazine; he moved to New York in 1965. He married Elaine Miller...Category
1970s Surrealist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCotton Canvas, Acrylic
- Silent Paradise - Leopards, Zebras, Panther and HippoBy Gustavo NovoaLocated in Miami, FLLeopards, Zebras, Panther and Hippo calmly lounge in a tropical paradise surrounded by lush foliage and flowers at the edge of azure blue water. Signed lower right. Signed and dated on verso Provenance: Private Collection Condition: Excellent, Unframed. Chilean-born Gustavo Novoa became represented exclusively by the Wally Findlay Galleries...Category
2010s Surrealist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Acrylic
- Le Paradis - Paradise, Topical Verdant Fantasy Landscape with Flamingos EgretsBy Henri-Robert BresilLocated in Miami, FLParadise was found and it's in the mind's eye of Haitian painter Henri-Robert Bresil. His stylized renditions of a verdant world populated by birds of Paradise... Pink Flamingos and...Category
1990s Surrealist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Canvas
- Evening on the Summit - Deer on a mountain topBy Charles Courtney CurranLocated in Miami, FLThis work embodies a beautiful color scheme that is evident in the treatment of the sky and the huge cloud structure. that Signed and Dated lower right Original Period Frame On Vers...Category
1930s Post-Impressionist Animal Paintings
MaterialsOil
You May Also Like
- Jean-Léon Gérôme - Lion aux Aguets; On the Watch, french, painting, academicismBy Jean-Léon GérômeLocated in London, GBJean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) Lion aux Aguets; On the Watch oil on canvas 29.2 x 42.4 cm signed and inscribed 'Esquisse J L Gérome/Aimé Morot' (lower right) Price: £150,000 GBP Prov...Category
19th Century Academic Animal Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- La Vieille Ferme - Academic Landscape Oil by Marie-Francois Firmin-GirardBy Marie-Francois Firmin-GirardLocated in Marlow, BuckinghamshireSigned landscape oil on canvas circa 1890 by French Academic painter Marie-Francois Firmin-Girard. The work depicts a farmyard filled with animals - cows, horses, chickens and ducks....Category
Late 19th Century Academic Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Large oil paintings of Gulls at St. Ives bay, Cornwall by British artist TitcombLocated in Petworth, West SussexWilliam Holt Yates Titcomb (British, 1858 – 1930) Gulls at St. Ives bay Oil on canvas Signed ‘W. H. Y. TITCOMB’ (lower right) 34 x 44 in. (86.3 x 111.8 cm.) Frame measurements: 110.3...Category
Early 20th Century Academic Animal Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Normandy Rouen Cathedral 19th Century LandscapeBy LangloisLocated in Paris, FRCharming impressionist oil on canvas from the late 19th century representing a view of a quay in Rouen on the Seine with a herd on pasture and Rouen Cathedral in the background. The ...Category
19th Century Academic Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Pasture with CowsBy Rémy CoggheLocated in Atlanta, GABorn in Mouscron in the Belgian province of Hainaut, Cogghe attended the Academy of Roubaix where he studied under Constantin Mils. In 1876, Cogghe was admitted to the École Nation...Category
Early 1900s Academic Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Sheep and Lambs in a Spring MeadowBy William Baptiste BairdLocated in Phoenixville, PAWilliam Baptiste Baird (1847-1917) Sheep and lambs in a Spring Meadow Oil on canvas, 13" X 9 1/2" Signed lower right: "Baird" Original Gilt Frame RelinedCategory
19th Century Academic Animal Paintings
MaterialsOil
Recently Viewed
View AllThe 1stDibs Promise
Learn MoreExpertly Vetted Sellers
Confidence at Checkout
Price-Match Guarantee
Exceptional Support
Buyer Protection
Trusted Global Delivery