Raft Of The Medusa Essay

The Raft of the Medusa was the beginning of a new era for art called “Romanticism”. Today it is in a museum in Musee Du Lourve, Paris. To better understand this analysis I’m going to start from the beginning and give you the backstory. On July 2,1816 The Medusa was being sailed by an incompetent captain whom had been appointed by the King of France. This captain also had a reputation for being quite ignorant according to many historians. His ignorance and lack of experience eventually led to the wreck of The Medusa when it ran aground a sandbar off the coast of Africa. They had lifeboats; however, there was only enough room for the people of higher status, leaving many people without any way off the vessel. The ship’s carpenter was immediately
Gericault was very dedicated to making this painting very life like, so dedicated that he interviewed two survivors, constructed a life size model of the raft in his studio, and even visited hospitals and morgues to observe the skin tone and texture of the dead and dying people from the raft.

The Raft of the Medusa is very big for a painting that isn’t about a king. The size combined with the foreshortening and life-like contouring makes for a very realistic result.

This painting is quite large as it stands 16 feet tall and over 23 feet wide. Gericault’s fluid brushwork really helps emphasize the frantic movement of the raft as it was surrounded by ten foot tall waves. He also uses for shortening with the lower right corner of the raft which makes it look as if it’s coming into our personal space, this really adds to the realism of the photo. Simply looking at the painting could take your breath away. It is composed of two pyramidal structures. The foreground being made up of the many deceased bodies and the pyramid in the background being made up of the few survivors piling on top of each other in their last effort to be