Monday, February 28, 2011

The Raft of the Medusa








I was 28 years old when I first saw the amazing painting, The Raft of the Medusa (1819). The artist, Théodore Géricault was about the same age when he completed his masterpiece that immortalized the 1816 shipwreck of the French frigate, the Méduse.

Géricault spent weeks studying the dead and dying in hospitals and morgues. His passion for realism is evident in his representation of life and death, depicted so dramatically on the collapsing raft. Standing in front of this immense work, its composition and superb rendering have an immediate vortex effect.


2 comments:

Elizabeth Fama said...

What a coincidence! Sally just taught this painting to her high school art history students!

Susan said...

She chose a great painting to share with the class! The painting stirred immediate controversy when it was first exhibited. 200 years later, it remains iconic for its historic importance and artistic excellence.