Rosa Bonheur, Director of Drawing

"Rosa Bonheur" by Anna Elizabeth Klumpke

"Rosa Bonheur, a woman of indomitable energy, was also director of a drawing school for young girls. The post had originally been given to her father but on his death in 1849, it was given to her, who, with the aid of her sister Juliette, carried it on until 1860, when she found that the increasing number of her commissions prevented her devoting sufficient time to the institution.

She was as thorough in her teaching as in her work, and a series of studies which she drew as examples for her pupils was lithographed and put in the collection of the Beaux-Arts, still serving the same purpose for another generation as that for which it was designed.

An address which she gave to the pupils of this school indicates the lines of her teaching: 'Guard against wishing to go too quickly. Before taking up your brushes, be certain of your pencil. Gain a thorough knowledge of the science of drawing, and do not be in a hurry to leave the school. The time here, believe me, will not be lost time. Those who are most gifted, and who have a natural faculty for colour, run no risk of spoiling their gift by postponing for a little time the moment for exercising it, and they do not run the risk of applying their talent wrongly. If one is given the germ of a talent by Providence, it is folly to spoil it by wishing to reap early results from it, results that have no value.'

She was adored by the pupils of the school, despite the severity of her judgments upon their work. Her favourite dictum was, 'Go home to your mother and mend your stockings, or do needlework,' a sarcasm that generally reduced the unfortunate pupil to tears. The next moment a jest or happy phrase removed the sting whilst the lesson remained. Later one of her pupils, who achieved some success, said of her, 'She could not endure weakness. Your drawing might be wrong, but if the lines were firm she would show you your mistake with infinite patience. The least trace of indecision or feebleness would bring a remark like a sword cutting through the air.'"

To be continued

(Excerpts from "Rosa Bonheur" by Frank Hird.)