10 Facts About Isidore Bonheur

In 1828 Isidore Bonheur moved to Paris with his mother and brothers and sister, his father having gone ahead of them to establish a residence and income.

Isidore Bonheur studied painting at first, enrolling in 1849 at the Ecole nationale superieure des Beaux-Arts, though he made his debut at the Salon in 1848 and exhibited regularly until 1899.

Isidore Bonheur won medals in 1859,1865,1869, took part in the Exposition Universelle, 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 Medaille d'Or with a sculpture entitled Cavalier Louis XV at the Exposition Universelle.

Also in 1894, Isidore Bonheur was awarded the status of Knight in the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Vicosa, Portugal.

Isidore Bonheur was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honour on 7 May 1895, decorated 24 May, and breveted 18 September 1895, Paris.

Isidore Bonheur had given up painting in favor of sculpture early on in his career, though he was noted primarily for his small animalier groups.

Isidore Bonheur's studio was located at l'Impasse du Moulin Joly, on the corner of rue du Faubourg-du-Temple in Paris.

Isidore Bonheur found a greater market for his work in the mid-nineteenth century in England versus France.

The Peyrol casts for both Rosa and Isidore Bonheur are exceptionally well executed, which suggests a strong working relationship between the founder and sculptor.

Isidore Bonheur 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.