Google Doodle: Google Celebrates 200th Birth Anniversary of French Artist Rosa Bonheur

To celebrate the 200th birth anniversary of Rosa Bonheur, one of the most prominent painters of the 19th century, Google honoured the French artist with a beautiful drawing on its home page.

Bonheur, whose successful career has inspired a "future generation of women in the arts," is known for her realistic style. The celebrated artist, known as a painter of animals (animalière), was similarly depicted on the search engine's home page.

The doodle showed the artist sitting under a tree, looking at a green pasture with a flock of sheep, resonating with her painting style. Bonheur is seen painting in a natural setting. On March 16, 1822, she was born in Bordeaux, France; her father, a minor landscape painter, facilitated her early art education.

"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 famous sculptor, her works began to gain popularity after exhibiting them at the prestigious Paris Salon from 1841 to 1853. A French government commission prompted Bonheur to seal her status as an established professional artist with an iconic painting titled "Plowing in the Nivernais", exhibited in 1849.

In 1853, Bonheur gained international recognition with her painting "The Horse Fair," a masterpiece known for its startling depiction of the mood seen at a Paris horse market. As her best-known work, the painting remains displayed at New York's prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1865, the 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 had been given to a female artist.