This Doodle honours French painter Louis Joseph César Ducornet, who gained renown in the 1800s despite being born without arms or a left leg and learning to paint with his right foot’s four toes. His intricate portraits brought him fame.
Due to a phocomelia, Ducornet was born with malformations in his arms and legs. Ducornet was born without arms or a left leg, but he did have four toes on his right foot. During Ducornet’s early years, his father carried him about because he was unable to walk. Ducornet started experimenting with sketching after using his toes to pick up a bit of charcoal. This ignited a passion for painting that has lasted a lifetime.
Local artists and schools took notice of Ducornet after he demonstrated his skill as an illustrator. He was able to study under well-known painters in Paris because to training and pensions from the government. He focused on biblically-inspired works early in his career, such as Repentance (1828) and St. Louis administering Justice. To this day, the Lille Museum has both paintings.
The French scholarship aid Prix de Rome did not grant Ducornet any awards due to his infirmity. Still, the renowned Salon d’Art bestowed upon him various honours. The French government bought one of his paintings, Mary Magdalene, in 1840. His most well-known piece, a self-portrait in which he is shown painting with his foot, was his next creation. Several of the most famous museums in the world still display his historical settings and portraits.
Happy birthday, Louis Joseph César Ducornet!