Rosa Bonhauer, a French painter and sculptor, was honored with a Google Doodle on her 200th birthday. Bonhaur was born on this day in 1822 in Bordeaux, France. Her desire for a career in art was uncommon for women of the time. Many of his works were on display at the prestigious Paris Saloon from 1841 to 1853. Bonhaeur’s most famous work, The Horse Fair, is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Bonhauer was considered one of the most famous female painters of the nineteenth century, and her successful career inspired future generations of women in the arts.
Dedicated to Rosa Bonhaur, Google Doodle is a digital painting that allows artists to sketch sheep in the countryside. Once you click, it prompts you to search results for Rosa Bonhaur. The Google logo has also been modified on the search results page, replacing the second ‘o” with the artist’s face. The doodle is only visible in a limited number of countries, most notably India, France, the United States, Iceland and Ireland.
As Google described in her doodle blog post, Rosa Bonhaeur’s early artistic education was facilitated by her father, a minor landscape painter. Bonhaeur’s interest in pursuing a career in art was uncommon in early 19th century society. Nevertheless, Bonhauer remained steadfast in his will and closely followed the development of the artistic tradition through years of careful study and preparation of sketches before being immortalized on canvas. In Bonhaeur’s day, women were often involuntarily educated as artists, and as a successful artist she helped open the door for the female artists who followed her.
Rosa Bonhaur’s reputation as an animal painter and sculptor grew in the 1840s. Scholars believe that it was an exhibition of plowing in Nivernais in 1849, a government commission now located in the Musée Nationale du Château de Fontainebleau in France, which established him as a professional artist. In 1853, Bonhauer gained international acclaim with his painting The Horse Fair, which depicted the horse market held in Paris. As mentioned earlier, the painting is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In honor of this famous painting, the French Empress Eugenie awarded Rosa Bonhaur the Legion of Honor – one of the country’s most prestigious awards – in 1865.