The Raft of the Medusa

Théodore Géricault Le Radeau de La Méduse (the raft of the medusa) French Romantic artist (1798-1863) oil painting Théodore Géricault (26 September 1791 - 26 January 1824) is an influential French painter and lithographer. The Raft of the Medusa is known for his most famous piece, which is an oil painting on canvas completed during 1818 to 1819, when he was in the age of 27. The painting depicts the scene of the aftermath when a shipwreck occured, this is referred to a real event happened on the 5th of July 1816 in Mauritania. The Raft of the Medusa was done in an over life size at 491 cm × 761 cm. Géricault first started by learning the tradition of English sporting art by Carle Vernet and classical figure composition by Pierre-Narcisse Guerin in the age of 15, which is when he developed a great facility in capturing animal movement, which is shown in The Raft of the Medusa. He then chose to study at the Louvre afterward. During the time at the Louvre he copied paintings by artists such as rembrandt, Titian, Rubens and Velazquez. He was a lot self-taught despite the fact he spent 3 years in the studio.…

The work of art I am choosing to discuss romantic characteristics of is, "The Raft of the Medusa" by Theodore Gericault. This picture depicts the survivors of the "Medusa", a french ship that sunk after a tragic accident. This painting is a huge representation of a macabre theme. It is very disturbing due to the fact that men are lying lifelessly upon the ground and the whole painting creates uneasy feelings. Gericault does a tremendous job at exemplifying the two extremes of hope and despair.…

Devlynn Dunagan Opinion Essay Romantics Group I had difficulty choosing a piece of art that I enjoyed more than the others but I finally narrowed it down to Théodore Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. As someone who generally prefers obscure contemporary art, I was surprised that I admired this piece. I was completely captivated by the grotesque melancholic nature of this painting. The Raft of the Medusa portrays fleeting hope and human suffering simultaneously. I like the because painting…

Art is meant to capture the viewer’s attention and affect them on a deep level. Many times, it leads the audience to examine human beings at a rudimentary state. In Théodore Géricault’s painting, Raft of the Medusa, 1818-1819, Oil on canvas, the viewer does exactly that. In his painting, about 20 men are strewn on a makeshift raft from the remnants of their ship. Some are dead and some are franticly waving pieces of cloth in the air at a ship in the horizon. Each man has an intense look on his…

The piece that I chose was Theodore Gericault’s, Raft of Medusa. I find this piece very moving. This picture tells a story in of itself all on its own. To begin, the bodies in the piece are intertwined and slumped over each other. A particular figure seems to be holding another man on the raft. Gericault uses a monochromatic color scheme. Within this color scheme, Theodore incorporates the color of death. Gericault’s use of diagonal lines created a heightened emotional scene. He positioned the…

The Raft of the Medusa’s denotative meaning is the raft of jellyfish because Medusa means jellyfish. The connotative meaning is the raft of free-swimming sexual form of a jelly fish. The bottom of the raft most of the people are undressed and looking as if they are about to die. The top of the raft the people are waving clothes as if to call for help and they are standing and looking hopeful. The painting is dominated by cool colors, mostly dark and stormy. The light is being shined on the raft…

catch on a painting on the other side of the room: 16’ by 23’, it swallows them. They advance, slowly at first and then quicker to match the swell of their pulses. They stand before Le Radeau de la Méduse (The Raft of the Medusa), breathing in the horror of its gruesome truth. They see the corpses lining the edges of the raft and the survivors who climb over their heads; the size makes it impossible to ignore, but still some turn away, squeamish at the sight. It ignites the flame of the budding…

Notwithstanding the accomplishment of the show, the French government still declined to purchase the artistic creation and his own monstrous spending implied that he was lashed for trade and out no position to leave on another eager and costly vast scale venture like The Raft. His wellbeing too was soon to endure. On his arrival to France, a riding mischance prompted inconveniences, making a tumour creation on the spine that demonstrated lethal. He passed on, matured 32, in January…

when he was merely twenty-seven years of age. His choice of a controversial and taboo subject matter helped to launch his career. It depicts a scene from the infamous wreckage of French Naval frigate Méduse. On July 2, 1816, the vessel ran aground off the coast of Western Africa in the Bay of Arguin. By July 5th, The one hundred and forty-seven people aboard were forced to cast away on a makeshift raft. In their thirteen days lost at sea, all but fifteen died before rescue, and those who were…

(79f.). The fifth chapter concludes with the remark that woodworms are living in the frame of Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa (139). Chapter 6 begins with the noise of xestobium rufo-villosum (143), a beetle closely related to the woodworm (19). In chapter 8, Charlie’s letters have to be protected from woodworms by keeping them in a plastic bag (197).…