Google Doodle Celebrates Alice in Wonderland Illustrator John Tenniel's 200th Birthday
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Google Doodle celebrates Alice in Wonderland illustrator John Tenniel's 200th birthday:
Look long enough at Friday's Google Doodle and a familiar smile will emerge. The unmistakable grin belongs, of course, to the Cheshire Cat, the mischievous feline who befriends Alice in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
[...] The famous grin was created by John Tenniel, a prominent English illustrator and satirical artist in the 19th century. Google dedicated a Doodle that imitates Tenniel's style to the artist on his 200th birthday. Framing the Doodle are an artist's pencil and pen, apparently placed on the drawing after its completion.
[...] Carroll had originally decorated Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with his own illustrations, but recognizing his limited artistic ability, turned to Tenniel, captivated by the exaggerated characters he drew in a dark, grotesque style.
Tenniel was knighted in 1893 by Queen Victoria and retired from illustrating in 1901. He died in 1914 at the age of 93.
Friday's Doodle was created by Doodler Matthew Cruickshank, who hails from North London. Cruickshank said that as a child he found the illustrations "hauntingly beautiful and bizarre."
He said he drew inspiration from the conversations Alice had with the Cheshire Cat.
"You really can 'go' anywhere you want on the homepage, depending on what you're searching for," he told Google.
Also at Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
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