- Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822-99). Achieved wealth and fame even in her youth as a superb painter, mainly of animals. Dressed as a man in order to inspect stables and slaughterhouses. Was given a legal permit in 1857 to continue male attire. Bought a chateau which she shared with her companion, Nathalie Micas, also an artist. There they maintained a cageless animal preserve for countless species from parakeets to lions. Bonheur’s portrayals of all these creatures, her passion, are widely considered to be the definitive paintings of the animal kingdom.
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