An albumen CdV of Marie Rosalie Bonheur (1822-1899). She poses with a brush on the typical "Disderi chair" near her.
Bonheur was widely considered to be the most famous female painter of the nineteenth century. She was noted for her realistic animal portraits, such as "Horse Fair" (1853). In 1865 she became the first female artist (and only the twelfth woman) to receive the Cross of the Légion d’Honneur.

These days her fame as an artist is somewhat overshadowed by her notoriety as a cross-dresser. Her short hair, her trousers, and cigarette smoking are now legendary. Although many of her contemporaries found the elements of masculine dress that she adopted troubling - or at least, endless fascinating - it is worth noting that her intention was not to look like a man, and even less to pass for one. She sought, rather, to devise an alternative model of being a woman, though of course, these departures from the expectations of polite society also signalled her sexual unorthodoxy. (Paul Frecker)

"Rosa Bonheur" written in pencil on the verso.
Print in good condition.

ca. 1865

Literature: Elizabeth Anne McCauley, A.A.E. Disderi and the Carte de Visite Portrait Photograph, 1985