Grade Twelve Painting Study - The Raft of the Medusa

The painting that we studied today finds its subject in the aftermath of the wreck of the French frigate "Méduse", painted by Theodore Géricault.  We analyzed this work in two ways: The Event and The Artist and His Work.

The Event
- the frigate left France in July of 1816
- due to poor navigation and inexperience on behalf of the captain, it ran aground on a sand-bank of the coast of modern Mauritania
- 240 men, the "upper echelon" of those aboard, occupied the lift boats after the wreck
- the remaining approx. 140 men (and one woman) were put on a raft that was hastily constructed.  It is said the raft was the size of a tennis court
- the boats were supposed to surround, protect, and tow the raft.
- after a few miles, however, the raft was cut loose and those aboard were left to the elements, the mercy of an angry ocean!
- those aboard became dehydrated, starved, and crazed...resorting to murder and cannibalism

The Artist and His Work
Géricault was young and sought to make his mark in the art world.  He chose this subject because he knew the attention that it would generate.  This was a modern event, fresh in the mind and psyché of the french public, and he knew that this work would garner attention.  He prepared extensively:
- he met with survivors to get every detail of the raft in its final stages
- he studied corpses and even took limbs to his study to observe and paint the colours and stages of decay
- he studied and sketched the faces of dying patients

He finally locked himself away in nearly total seclusion.  He shaved his head and led a monastic life, totally obsessed and dedicated to his project.  He was reviled by those around him, driving himself to the brink of madness to capture the human tragedy in the piece.  The process took about 8 months to complete.  He sketched in pencil the overall composition, then studied models one at a time and added them to the piece with stunning realism.  When the painting was revealed to the public it was met with praise for its stunning realism, and horror and criticism at the ghoulishness of the scene.  The final painting is quite large, at roughly 5 x 7 meters!

This painting is considered a good representation of French Romaniticism, focusing on intense emotion (apprehension, terror, awe).

The artist died very young at the age of 34, due to poor health from riding injuries and tubercular complications.