The Raft of the Medusa (1818-19) - Théodore Géricault - Painting analysis | Masterpieces in 3 min. скачать в хорошем качестве

The Raft of the Medusa (1818-19) - Théodore Géricault - Painting analysis | Masterpieces in 3 min.

Théodore Géricault - The Raft of the Medusa 1818–1819, oil on canvas, 490 × 716 cm | 16 ft, 1 × 23 ft 6 in Looking at this work, we find ourselves on an overcrowded and fragile raft. In the middle of the sea, more waves are crashing against the fragile wood, which is carrying several people. The mast is being pulled backwards by the sail in the wind, threatening to break at any moment. The people on the raft, some of whom are starving, are trying to hold on with the last of their strength. Some of them have already died and are lying in the front section, ready to be swept away by the next wave. While the sky in the right part of the picture is covered by dark clouds, the sky on the left is still somewhat bluish. The colors suggest dusk. A small ship can be seen on the horizon in the far distance of the painting, which covers over 30 square meters. The men on the raft have spotted it and are piling up to form a pyramid. The man at the top is waving a large cloth to draw attention to himself. This ship could be the last hope for the crew. Completely unimpressed, an older man sits at the front of the raft, leaning on his fist and holding one of the corpses. He seems to be mourning and has perhaps already given up hope of being rescued. Géricault has depicted a true event in this work. After the frigate "Medusa" was shipwrecked in 1816, a raft was supposed to have room for 150 people and be pulled by the 6 lifeboats. However, the ropes were cut after a short time, whereupon the crew on the raft were left to their own fate. The raft was on the open sea for a whole twelve days, with catastrophic conditions prevailing after a very short time. 15 people survived.