Highland Raid

A herd of shaggy Highland cattle pushes forward across misty hills in this 1860 painting by Rosa Bonheur, titled "Highland Raid." The pale, long-horned bull at the center leads the way, flanked by a heavy black bull, a cluster of woolly sheep, and a couple of herders wrapped against the cold. Gray clouds hang low over the mountains behind them, giving the whole scene a damp, chilly Scottish feel.

Bonheur built her reputation as one of the great animal painters of the 1800s through sheer determination. She spent countless hours studying animals up close, even visiting farms and slaughterhouses to learn exactly how their bodies worked. In a bold move for her era, she secured special permission from the French police to wear trousers so she could sketch freely in rugged places. That devotion pays off here, since every creature feels like a living individual rather than part of a background.

The funny twist is that Bonheur never set foot in Scotland. She dreamed up the landscape using her imagination and the work of other artists, which is why the hills feel a little like a backdrop staged for her animals. Even so, the painting rings true when it comes to the rough rhythm of rural life and the steady muscle of a working herd, rendered with the warm realism that made her a rare famous woman artist of her time.