The Farm at the Entrance of the Wood (1860–80): Art, History and Details

The Farm at the Entrance of the Wood (1860–80) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822–1899).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

One of the most celebrated female artists of the 19th century, Bonheur established an international reputation by exhibiting at the Paris Salons. Empress Eug​é​nie, wife of Napoleon III, visited her studio to personally confer the Legion of Honor, making Bonheur the first woman to receive the award. This painting may have been inspired by the rustic houses in the vicinity of the Forest of Fontainebleau, where Bonheur lived for more than 40 years.

Object facts

• Title: The Farm at the Entrance of the Wood
• Date: 1860–80
• Creator attribution: Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822–1899)
• Culture: France, 19th century
• Type: Painting
• Technique: oil on fabric
• Dimensions: Unframed: 28.4 x 40.3 cm (11 3/16 x 15 7/8 in.)
• Collection: Mod Euro - Painting 1800-1960
• Department: Modern European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1978.73

A detail from the museum

Bonheur's artistic work led her to pastures, fairs, and even slaughterhouses—unlikely places for a proper 19th- century lady. Long dresses were too cumbersome for her rugged lifestyle; in order to wear trousers on the job she had to seek permission from the local government.

Collection credit

Gift of Mrs. John B. Dempsey

Further reading listed by the museum

• Roger-Milès, L. Rosa Bonheur, sa vie--son œuvre; ouvrage orné de 22 gravures hors texte et de 54 gravures dans le texte. Paris, France: Société d'édition artistique, 1900.
• Klumpke, Anna. Rosa Bonheur; sa vie, son œuvre. Paris, France: E. Flammarion, 1909.
• Stanton, Theodore. Reminiscences of Rosa Bonheur. New York, NY: Hacker Art Books, 1976.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.