Two Bulls Grazing 

Rosa Bonheur's "Two Bulls Grazing" captures a slice of rural life in 19th-century France, rendered in oil paint. The image creates meaning through its serene depiction of these animals, nodding towards the agrarian economy that defined much of French society at the time. Bonheur’s work intersects with the Realist movement, which sought to portray the world as it was, steering away from Romantic idealizations. However, her focus on animal portraiture and rural scenes also reflects a changing society, one where industrialization was beginning to overshadow agriculture. Bonheur’s paintings offered a nostalgic view of the countryside, perhaps commenting on the social shift and critiquing the institutions that favored urban development. Understanding the role of art historians, with resources like period newspapers, agricultural records, and exhibition reviews, becomes crucial to better understand the society. In the end, artworks such as this are contingent on their social and institutional context.