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Stag Lying Down
Rosa Bonheur (French, 1822–1899)
c. 1875–85
- Medium
- watercolor and gouache over graphite on cream wove paper
- Classification
- Drawing
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 28 x 38.1 cm (11 x 15 in.)
- Culture
- France, 19th century
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Drawings
- Credit line
- James Parmelee Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Little Ones profiles and older: it shows gentle subjects for the very young. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This drawing was among many representing stags that were discovered in Rosa Bonheur’s studio after her death. One of the few women of her time who was given the support needed for an artistic career, Bonheur became famous during her lifetime for naturalistic portrayals of animals. Daily carriage rides through the forest around her home enabled her to sketch from nature. One such outing inspired Cleveland’s drawing: Bonheur’s companion recalled “a stag . . . with the sun playing on him through the leaves . . . [who] remained perfectly still.” Watercolor was ideal for such improvisatory studies, allowing Bonheur to work outdoors alongside the subjects she treasured.
