Скачать или смотреть The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

The Raft of the Medusa (1818–1819) is a monumental painting by French artist Théodore Géricault. It’s one of the most iconic works of Romanticism and depicts the aftermath of the wreck of the French naval frigate Méduse, which sank off the coast of Senegal in 1816. The painting captures a real event in which the survivors, left adrift on a hastily built raft, suffered from starvation, dehydration, and cannibalism. Only 10 out of the 150 people on the raft survived after 13 harrowing days.

The composition is powerful, dramatic, and chaotic, capturing the desperation and human suffering of those onboard. Géricault spent months researching the event, interviewing survivors, studying dead bodies in morgues to accurately depict corpses, and making numerous preparatory sketches. The painting, with its dynamic diagonal lines and intense contrast of light and shadow, guides the viewer's eye from the heap of dead and dying figures to the small glimpse of hope on the horizon—a ship that may save them.

The Raft of the Medusa was seen as an indictment of the French government of the time, which had poorly handled the aftermath of the shipwreck. The work shocked and captivated viewers when it was first exhibited at the Salon in Paris, both for its political critique and its raw, emotional intensity.

The painting reflects Romantic ideals: the focus on human emotion, the sublime (the interplay of beauty and terror), and the individual’s struggle against nature and fate.