The Legend of the Wolves

Bonheur employed smudged, stumped charcoal lines and soft pastel washes to model the sky and rock surfaces, creating a misty, atmospheric effect. The use of black chalk adds depth to the equine forms, while the blue paper background intensifies the overall tonal contrast, allowing the horses to emerge as the sole clear silhouettes.

The drawing is attributed to the later period of Bonheur’s career, when she increasingly explored animal subjects in more experimental media. It entered the collection of a private European patron in the early twentieth century before being acquired by its present institution in the 1970s, where it remains on view as part of the museum’s holdings of 19th‑century animal studies.