Raft of the Medusa
Factual Information:
From: France
Period: 1818 - 1819
Period: 1818 - 1819
General Information:
This painting is of a a depiction of the survivors of a shipwreck by Theodore Gericault. Gericault had to make a painting as a springboard to become noteworthy of commissions. And so without a commission, created this work of art to create his needed publicity. He spend large amounts of time on the painting, making sure of its historical accuracy. He visited morgues to view corpses of how dead people would look like under these conditions. He interviewed the survivors of the incident to gain a better image of what it was like. He even made a raft model in his studio. When he had achieved enough information he painting it in the most emotional way he could. Dead and dying members of the crew lie on a raft from the wrecked ship. They had to endure starvation, dehydration, mental degradation, and the need to cannibalize to survive. The crew memebers attempt to hail a ship on the far horizon, drawing upon the last of their strength to get their attention. The event became very popular and well known during this time because of how well publicized the event was. Gericault took was an abolitionist, he wanted to abolish slavery, and took his moment to make a statement about the abolishement of slavery with his portrayal of a black soldier and one of the few survivors at the top of the pyramidal heap of bodies.
Why This Artwork?
This artwork was chosen to show the subject matter of the Romantic movement, such as horrific accidents such as this one, to draw emotion from the viewer and make them see this type of emotion, and draw them from their false logical view on the world.