Celebrating the 200th birth anniversary of Rosa Bonheur, one of the most prominent female painters of the 19th century, Google honoured the French artist with a beautiful doodle on its homepage.
Bonheur, whose successful career is said to have inspired a “future generation of women in the arts” is known for her realist style. The celebrated artist, well known as a painter of animals (animalière), was depicted on the search engine’s homepage in a similar way.
Resonating with her style of painting, the doodle showed the artist sitting under a tree, overlooking a green pasture with a flock of sheep. Bonheur was seen painting in a natural setting.
The Art: paintings and sculptures like “The Horse Fair” 🖼️
The Artist: Rosa Bonheur 👩🎨
The Legacy: inspired a whole new generation of women artists 👩🎨👩🎨👩🎨
Here’s a #GoogleDoodle celebrating Rosa on her 200th birthday: https://t.co/YpIScUElNU. pic.twitter.com/Yr40k4BR5T
— Google India (@GoogleIndia) March 16, 2022
Born on March 16, 1822, in Bordeaux, France – her early artistic education was facilitated by her father, a minor landscape painter. “Although her aspirations for a career in the arts were unconventional for women of the time, Bonheur closely followed the development of artistic traditions through years of careful study and preparing sketches before immortalizing them on canvas,” Google blog post read.
Also a popular sculptor, her works started to gain popularity after they were exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon from 1841 to 1853. A French government commission led Bonheur to seal her status as an established professional artist with an iconic painting titled “Ploughing in the Nivernais”, which was exhibited in 1849.
In 1853, Bonheur garnered international acclaim with her painting “The Horse Fair,” a masterpiece known for its amazing depiction of mood seen at a horse market in Paris. As her most well-known work, the painting remains on exhibit at the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In 1865, French Empress Eugénie even bestowed one of the nation’s most prestigious honours, the Legion of Honor to celebrate her works. It remains special as it was the first time the award was given to a female artist.
