Google has been feeling rather Egyptian lately when it comes to their Doodles. Earlier this week, they displayed a fun little piece honoring Howard Carter, the man who first uncovered King Tut’s tomb. Today, Google is celebrating not an archaeologist, but a famed sculptor who influenced the world of modern Egyptian art in a big way.

Today’s Doodle is dedicated to the sculptures of Mahmoud Mokhtar, “the father of modern Egyptian sculpture.”

Today marks the 121st birthday of Mahmoud Mokhtar, the father of modern Egyptian sculpture. Our doodle, on homepages in the Middle East and North Africa today, illustrates Mokhtar’s most famous statue, Egypt’s Renaissance.

As Google says, much of the world will miss out on this Doodle. But the ones that see it are treated with a representation of Mokhtar’s most famous work, Nahdit Misr, which comprises the “g” and “l” of the Google logo. Nahdit Misr (Egypt’s Renaissance) is a work that strongly promotes Egyptian nationalism. It was completed in 1928 and now stands proudly at the gate of Cairo University.

Mokhtar was one of the first artists to graduate from the School of Fine Arts in Cairo. After that, he traveled to Paris where he studied at their École des Beaux-Arts (School of Fine Arts). After producing many important works like “The Secret Keeper” and “The Nile’s Bride,” Mokhtar died in 1934 at the young age of 42.

[Image via Wikipedia]