Auguste Bonheur; Juliette Bonheur; Isidore Jules Bonheur; Rosa Bonheur
- Artist: Disdéri
- Date: 1860
- Medium: albumen carte-de-visite
- Dimensions: 3 3/8 in. x 2 in. (87 mm x 52 mm) image size
- Portrays: Auguste Bonheur, Isidore Jules Bonheur, Juliette Bonheur, Marie-Rosalie ('Rosa') Bonheur
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
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About this artwork
This carte shows the Bonheur siblings – Auguste, Isidore Jules, Juliette and their sister Rosa. In the front of the frame, Rosa is seated with a drawing board in front of her, looking into the camera as if she were ready to sketch. Her brothers sit behind her: Auguste on the left, slightly turned toward us, while Isidore stands to the right, both also holding brushes and palettes. Juliette sits beside them, her hand resting on a canvas. The whole group is captured in an albumen carte‑de‑visite from the 1860s, a small photographic card that was popular at the time.
The image shows them in their working clothes: masculine jackets and short hair, an attire Rosa used when she worked incognito to visit horse markets and slaughterhouses. By studying these places she gathered material for her big paintings of animals, which made her famous across Europe. The photograph, taken by Disdéri, reminds us that even though they were painters, they also understood the importance of capturing themselves on film.
See it in person
Auguste Bonheur; Juliette Bonheur; Isidore Jules Bonheur; Rosa Bonheur is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
