Today’s Google Doodle is another impressive one from the Internet giant’s creative team. It pays tribute to the great French composer Claude Debussy, using his most famous piece, “Clair De Lune.”
The animated doodle is set on the banks of the Seine at night. At first a Model T is seen driving along the river, while the lights in the background match the notes of the music. Tugboats appear next, followed by the silhouettes of a man and a woman in separate rowboats. A rain begins and when the boats meet, the woman takes out a read umbrella. The doodle ends with the word “Google” appearing above the umbrella.
Today marks Debussy’s 151st birthday. As Search Engine Watch notes, “Clair De Lune” was part of the Suite bergamasque, which he published in 1905 when he was 28-years-old.
Leon Hong explained the process of making the doodle on Google’s blog.
“Visually, I drew inspiration from cities of the late 1800's,” Hong wrote. “Stylistically, I aimed for a pseudo-flat and graphic look, as influenced by an illustrator from Debussy's time, Andre Halle. And compositionally, my goal was to make a doodle that would look nice as a French wine label.”
Disney fans may recognize “Clair De Lune” as a piece that was deleted from Fantasia, even after being completely animated. While the animation was later used for another feature, you can watch the segment below:
image: Google