Why Today’s Google Doodle Celebrates Louis Joseph César Ducornet

Google Doodles are one of the most viewed things on the internet and on Wednesday, it’s celebrating French artist Louis Joseph César Ducornet.

A Google Doodle is a temporary alteration of the logo on Google’s homepages intended to commemorate holidays, major events, achievements and notable historical figures. The first one was created back in 1998 by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to let people know that they were “out of office” at the Burning Man festival. They put a stick figure, similar to the Burning Man logo, behind the second “o” in Google.

From there, the idea of a Google Doodle progressed and they have become incredibly popular since. Over the years, the design has evolved from a straightforward static design to the occasional interactive logo. The first interactive Google Doodle was created in 2010 to celebrate Pac-Man’s 30th anniversary, which was a playable Pac-Man game.

If you head to the search engine’s homepage on Wednesday, January 10, you’ll see a picture of a man painting landscapes by holding a brush in his right foot. That man is French painter Ducornet—who became a renowned artist using just four toes—as it’s the anniversary of his birth.

Newsweek has everything you need to know about the late Ducornet and why he was famous.

Who Was Louis Joseph César Ducornet?

Ducornet was born on January 10, 1806, in Lille, France, making Wednesday his 218th birthday.

He was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital condition that results in various abnormalities to the face, limbs, ears, nose and a variety of other underdevelopments. The specific malformations can vary from person to person.

“This Doodle celebrates French artist Louis Joseph César Ducornet, a renowned painter in the 1800s who was born with no arms or left leg and learned to paint with the four toes on his right foot. He became famous for his intricate portraits,” Google wrote in its blurb to the illustration.

The French prodigy became an accomplished illustrator by honing his craft, which resulted in him being sent to Paris by the local government. Here he trained under some of the most renowned artists in the city. He even received a pension from King Louis XVIII for a short while so he could keep up with his training.

Despite being unable to apply to the Prix de Rome, a prominent French scholarship fund, due to his disability, he was awarded multiple medals at the Salon. This was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris and between 1748 and 1890, it was considered the greatest art event in the Western world.

He has a few notable works, such as an 11-foot-tall painting he made in 1840 depicting Mary Magdalene at the feet of Jesus, which the French government purchased. One of his best-known works, a self-portrait in which he is seen painting with his foot, was his next creation.

To this day, Ducornet is known for his biblical and historical scenes, as well as portraits. He died in Paris in 1856 at the age of 50.