Isidore Jules Bonheur (Bordeaux 15 May 1827 – 10 November 1901 Paris), best known as one of the 19th century's most distinguished French animalier sculptors.Christie's New York, Isidore-Jules Bonheur Bonheur began his career as an artist working with his elder sister Rosa Bonheur in the studio of their father, drawing instructor Raymond Bonheur. Initially working as a painter, Isidore Jules Bonheur made his Salon debut in 1848.

Life Born in Bordeaux, Jules was the third child of Christine Dorotheé Sophie Marquis (1797–1833), a musician, and Oscar-Raymond Bonheur (1796–1849) (a landscape and portrait painter and an early adherent of Saint-Simonianism, a Christian-socialist sect that promoted the education of women alongside men). Jules was the brother of Auguste Bonheur and Rosa Bonheur (1822–1899).Galton, Francis. Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into its Laws and Consequences. Second edition. (London: MacMillan and Co, 1892), p. 247. Original 1869. "It is I who first gave modeling and sculpture lessons to my brother Isidore" (Rosa Bonheur)Rosa Bonheur: sa vie – son œuvre, by Léon Roger-Milès, 1900

In Bordeaux his father had been friends with Francisco Goya who was living there in exile. In 1828 Bonheur moved to Paris with his mother and brothers and sister, his father having gone ahead of them to establish a residence and income.Rosalia Shriver, Rosa Bonheur: With a Checklist of Works in American Collections (Philadelphia: Art Alliance Press, 1982) 2–12.)

He studied painting at first, enrolling in 1849 at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, though he made his debut at the Salon (Paris) in 1848 (a Cavalier nègre attaqué par une lionne, plaster, and a drawing of the same subject) and exhibited regularly until 1899. He won medals in 1859, 1865, 1869, took part in the Exposition Universelle (1855), exhibited in London at the Royal Academy of Arts in the 1870s, where he gained great success with equine figures and groups, and won the coveted Médaille d'Or (gold medal) with a sculpture entitled Cavalier Louis XV at the Exposition Universelle (1889). He won a silver medal at l'Exposition [Historique?] de Madrid in 1892, a gold medal at the Exposition Internationale d'Anvers (1894).

Also in 1894, Bonheur was awarded the status of Knight in the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa (Cavaleiro da Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa), Portugal. In 1895 he was named Chevalier (Knight) of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, Spain. He was named Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion of Honour on 7 May 1895, decorated 24 May, and breveted 18 September 1895, Paris.Archives nationales, site de Paris, Base Léonore, recensement des récipiendaires de la Légion d’honneur

He had given up painting in favor of sculpture early on in his career, though he was noted primarily for his small animalier groups. His studio (atelier) was located at l'Impasse du Moulin Joly, on the corner of rue du Faubourg-du-Temple in Paris.Rosa Bonheur: sa vie – son œuvre, by Léon Roger-Milès, 1900, page 167

Isidore Bonheur found a greater market for his work in the mid-nineteenth century in England versus France. In 1870 he gained representation at the Royal Academy and produced a variety of work that catered to English collectors.Mackay, James, The Animaliers, E.P. Dutton, Inc., New York, 1973

Many of his bronzes were edited by the founder Hippolyte Peyrol, Bonheur's brother-in-law by marriage to Juliette Bonheur (Isidor's youngest sister).Pierre Kjellberg, Bronzes of the 19th Century: Dictionary of Sculptors, Schiffer Pub., 1994, p. 101, The Peyrol casts for both Rosa and Isidore Bonheur are exceptionally well executed, which suggests a strong working relationship between the founder and sculptor. There is little doubt that Isidore Bonheur was an acute observer of nature; his animals were not anthropomorphized, but modelled to catch movement or posture characteristic of the particular species. He achieved this most successfully with his sculptures of horses, which are usually depicted as relaxed rather than spirited, and which are among his most renowned works.

Works

Combat de Taureaux, bronze, 1850 Cavalier chassant un taureau, 1852 (Rosa Bonheur: sa vie – son œuvre, list page 164) Un zèbre attaqué par une panthère, bronze, 1853, (commissioned by the French Ministère d'État for the Palace of Fontainebleau) Archives nationales, site de Pierrefitte-sur-Seine Niche du Bassin de la Cascade; Zébre attaqué par une panthère; Onagre attaqué par un jaguar 1853–1854, bronze, commissioned by the Ministère d'État and placed at the Château de Fontainebleau, where it remains today. Hercule et les chevaux de Diomède, 1855 Vache défendant son veau contre un loup, c.1857, bronze, exhibited 1858, Galerie de la Société des Amis des Arts, 7ème Exposition de la Société des Amis des Arts (n° 48), Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux Ulysse reconnu par son chien, 1859 Un Taureau, 1864, İstanbul Deux Taureaux, Salon de 1865Vue d'une partie des œuvres exposées au Salon de 1865 sur le site Culture.gouv.fr – On remarque les deux taureaux d'Isidore Bonheur et une réduction du Vercingétorix d'Aimé Millet. Exhibited at l'Exposition Universelle (1878), cast iron, Fonderie du Val d'Osne, now at the entrance of the parc Georges-Brassens, Paris.Recherche sur la paternité contoversée des taureaux sur le site Worldfairs.info – Une confusion est souvent faîte entre les taureaux de Bonheur et ceux d'Auguste Caïn, eux aussi exposés en 1878. A life-size replica was made for Juan Vicente Gómez and is located in northern Maracay, Venezuela. Gladiateur à cheval, 1866, posthumous cast, 1902, Hôpital Sainte-Anne, Paris Deux Lions, 1867, stone, commissioned by the Ministère d'État for the facade of the Palais de Justice, place de Harley Pépin-le-Bref dans l'arène, 1873 Lion vainqueur d'un serpent, 1876 Le Dénicheur de tigres, 1877 Un cavalier sous Louis XV, 1879 Cavalier romain, 1880, bronze, Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1883 (no. 895), Archives nationales, site de Pierrefitte-sur-Seine Cavalier romain, 1880, bronze, Salon de la Société des artistes français, 1882 (no. 4131), Archives nationales, site de Pierrefitte-sur-Seine Un cavalier sous Henri II, 1884 Cerf faisant tête, 1885 Trompette sous Louis XIII, 1886 Le Saut de la haie, and Portrait du cheval jongleur, 1889 (exhibited at the Exposition Universelle (1889)) Cavalier Louis XV, (Gold medal Exposition Universelle (1889)) Cerf aux écoutes, and Sanglier coiffé par un chien, 1894 Un Chien, bronze, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux Chienne, bronze, musée municipal, Saint-Dizier Un Lion, bronze, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes Une Lionne, bronze, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes Deux paysages, oil on canvas, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux Renard à l'affût, bronze, provenance: Rothschild, Alphonse, baron de, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux Un taureau, wax, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux Lion Marchant, bronze, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, now at Bétail au pâturage, bronze, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Toul Cavalier arabe tenant deux lionceaux, bronze, Musée d'Orsay, Paris Ours, bronze, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, and Musée des Arts décoratifs, Nantes Chasseurs de fauves, bronze, Musée du quai Branly Brilliant 1271 (755), bronze, Rahr West Art Museum

References

Other

External links

Musée d'Orsay, Paris Salon de 1865, sculpture garden with works by Isidore Jules Bonheur Sculptures in the Parc Georges Brassens Joconde, Le Ministère de la culture, Portail des collections des musées de France, Bonheur Isidore Jules Musée d'Orsay, Musée du quai Branly, Paris, Château de Fontainebleau, Agence photographique, Réunion des musées nationaux RMN, Isidore-Jules Bonheur Base de données Arcade, Le Ministère de la culture, Archives Nationales Isidore Jules Bonheur, The Steeplechase, bronze, Christie's New York, 5 Dec. 2003 Isidore Jules Bonheur, The Steeplechase, bronze, Christie's New York, 8 Dec. 2005 Isidore-Jules Bonheur, Le Grand Jockey (A Horse and Jockey), bronze, Sotheby's London, 6 June 2007 Isidore Jules Bonheur, The Steeplechase, bronze, Sotheby's London, 6 June 2007