Return from the Horse Fair

Horses and riders stream homeward across a wide, level ground under a broad sky, the frieze-like procession stretching across the long, low sheet. Rosa Bonheur, the most celebrated animal painter of her day, made this watercolor and gouache in 1873, more than a decade after the great oil canvas of the Horse Fair that had made her an international celebrity. Its sweeping horizontal movement and mastery of equine anatomy show the combination of patient study and bold touch behind a reputation then without rival among women painters in Europe.