Constriction Of The Lesbian Body In Rosa Bonheur's Horse Fair

The biography of Rosa Bonheur is crucial in fully understanding the social and political messages of her works. Such messages often lay hidden in Bonheur’s paintings because of the strict nineteenth century French definitions for masculinity and femininity that governed her life. Her biography, therefore, helps to draw attention to them. For example, James M. Saslow establishes in his ““Disagreeably Hidden”: Construction and Constriction of the Lesbian Body in Rosa Bonheur’s Horse Fair” article that this female artist possessed many characteristics associated with the male gender. These include dressing in men’s clothes and referring to Nathalie Micas or Anna Klumpke, both of whom she lived with, as her wife, which may indicate that she was a lesbian. The fact that she wore pants, although only for
Yet, there are two indicators that one of them is actually Rosa Bonheur in a masculine disguise. This male figure lacks facial hair, which was common for men to have at that time. In addition, he has longer hair than what was normal for men, but it is shorter than what was customary for women. Furthermore, the three-quarter pose is a traditional marker for self-portraits. Disguised as a male in The Horse Fair and Gathering for the Hunt, Bonheur advocates for equality between the sexes. She attempts to obtain the same privileges that men experience for women. She does not only do this in her paintings, but in reality as well, as reflected in her biography of wearing men’s attire. Yet, she never outwardly expressed any of this since society pressured her to follow the strict conventions of femininity. As a result, she only wore pants at specific locations, which were work and home. The unequal treatment of women is also the underlying meaning behind her animal paintings. Rosa Bonheur creates an analogy between animals and women. The unfair treatment of animals is regarded as being similar to the oppression of