Tête de bouc

1856–1867

Absent from the Salon: everything sold in advance

All her works were sold in advance, so Bonheur did not exhibit at the Salon. Théophile Gautier wrote that with her “there is no need to be gallant”: she took art seriously and could be judged on a par with men.

1867

Ten paintings at the Exposition Universelle

Bonheur showed ten paintings at the 1867 Exposition Universelle.

1869

Galton cites the Bonheurs as “hereditary genius”

In his essay “Hereditary Genius” Francis Galton cited Bonheur as an example: in her family her sister Juliette and brother Auguste also became painters, and her brother Isidore-Jules a sculptor.

1870

Franco-Prussian War: a battalion and a refuge

Shaken by the war, Bonheur offered the mayor of Thomery to raise a battalion and lead it to war; when he declined, she turned her estate into a shelter for the wounded and refugees.