{"product_id":"rosa-bonheur-the-artists-autobiography-9780472108251","title":"Rosa Bonheur: The Artist's (Auto)biography","description":"\u003cp\u003eHailed by her contemporaries as the most popular animal-painter  male or female  of the nineteenth century  the French artist Rosa Bonheur (1822-99) lived to see her name become a household word. In a century that did its best to keep women \"in their place \" Bonheur  like George Sand--to whom she was often compared--defined herself outside of the social and legal codes of her time. To the horror and bewilderment of many  she earned her own money  managed her own property  wore trousers  hunted  smoked  and lived in retreat with female companions in a little chateau near Fountainebleau named The Domain of Perfect Affection. Rosa Bonheur: The Artists (Auto)Biography brings this extraordinary woman to life in a unique blend of biography and autobiography. Coupling her own memories with Bonheurs first-person account  Anna Klumpke  a young American artist who was Bonheurs lover and chosen portraitist  recounts how she came to meet and fall in love with Bonheur. Bonheurs account of her own life story  set nicely within Klumpkes narrative  sheds light on such topics as gender formation  institutional changes in the art world  governmental intervention in the arts  the social and legal regulation of dress codes  and the perceived transgressive nature of female sexual companionship in a repressive society  all with the distinctive flavor of Bonheurs artistic personality. Gretchen van Slykes translation provides a rare glimpse into the unconventional life of this famous French painter  and renders accessible for the first time in English this public statement of Bonheurs artistic credo. More importantly  whether judged by her centurys standards (or perhaps even our own)  it details a story of lesbian love that is bold  unconventional  and courageous. \"The remarkable life of Rosa Bonheur  one of the most highly decorated artists and certainly the best known female artist of her time in nineteenth-century France  is long overdue for further scrutiny.\" --Therese Dolan  Temple University Gretchen van Slyke is Associate Professor of French  University of Vermont.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45648255549493,"sku":"ByrdShop_0472108255","price":89.01,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780472108251.jpg?v=1781714048","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/rosa-bonheur-the-artists-autobiography-9780472108251","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}