#Medusa art free#

Géricault himself stated of Michelangelo's Last Judgment that 'Michelangelo sent shivers up my spine, these lost souls destroying each other inevitably conjure up the tragic grandeur of the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo's Last Judgment: There is a clear influence of Michelangelo's Renaissance vision of Classicism in the idealized muscular forms of the bodies on board the ill-fated raft. T he influence on The Raft of the Medusa can be seen both in the subject matter, which treats a contemporary subject, but also in the idealization of the boy's form and the pyramidal composition. John Singleton Copley's Watson and the Shark: Copley, an American painter, depicted the attack of a 14-year-old orphan named Brook Watson by a ravenous shark in Havana, Cuba. Intense chiaroscuro and use of tenebrism create a dramatic background against which the survivors stand out as a stark testament to humanity. Baroque lighting: The tone and lighting utilized in The Raft of the Medusa are taken straight from the Caravaggio playbook. In addition, a multitude of prior artists' influences can be seen in The Raft of the Medusa. He foreshadowed the turn towards realism that would be seen in his own lifetime and the modern use of the media as a political tool. When news of what had happened reached France, the public was rightfully shocked and Géricault seized this opportunity to capitalize without commission on the event. The greatest inspiration for this painting was the true story of the tragedy. This caused a huge scandal at home due to the slow response of the French government in the rescue. By the time they were finally rescued, only 15 men had survived. There was a great deal of infighting, with many people being thrown overboard, throwing themselves overboard, or cannibalized. With only one bag of biscuits, two casks of water, and several casks of wine, the people adrift experienced a hellish 13 days at sea.

As a result, 146 men and one woman were loaded onto a wooden raft that was both shoddily and hastily constructed. The problem was that there were 400 people on board, while the boats only had the capacity to carry approximately 250.

#Medusa art free#

After three days of trying to free the ship from where it was stuck, the crew and passengers took to the ship's six small lifeboats. The Medusa was a French naval vessel that was on course off the coast of Africa before running aground on a sandbar near Mauritania on July 2, 1816. The story behind the painting is as devastating as the desperation on canvas. In its brutality, realism, and raw emotion it captures the essence of a historic event that shocked the French public, a Revolution-weary public that was not easy to shock. Painted when Géricault was just 27 years old, The Raft of the Medusa is considered an instant classic of the Romantic Movement. 'Crazed, parched and starved, they slaughtered mutineers, ate their dead companions and killed the weakest.'

The Opening of the Doors of the Spanish InquisitionĬritic Jonathan Miles’ account of the disaster:.