The Raft of Medusa

                                                        

                                                        The Raft of Medusa

The Raft of Medusa (measuring approx. 193.3 in × 282.3 in) was painted by Theodore Gerricault (between 1818-1819) and is now found at the Louvre in France. The huge painting portrays a terrible shipwreck of the French ship called Medusa which had happened three years before Gerricault created the painting.

The Beauty of the painting is said to lie in its horror and uncontrollable chaos. The subject explains the horrific experience of the survivors of this ship wreck, and shows many bodies reaching out in dramatic poses (lots of twisting and turning).

There is no identification of any hero, however such events did not always demand a central hero.

The Raft of Medusa at Louvre, Paris

The Raft of  Medusa by Theodore Gerricault

At viewers back of the raft, there is a figure waving red clothing in a desperate kind of hope for survival. This shows optimism.
In contrast, there is a man on the opposite side who’s resting his head on his hand and holding a naked corpse with the other. He has turned his back on hope, this shows pessimism.

This effects the viewer by triggering conflicting (pessimistic and optimistic) emotions.

Other horrific aspects were not shown by the artist such as murder, cannibalism and hardship. Instead, he chose to depict the moment in which the victims of this tragedy attempted to catch the attention of a ship far by (which eventually rescued them)

"In Géricault's paintings, suffering, death, and madness amounted to nature itself, for nature, in the end, is formless and destructive." *

* - From Art Through the Ages, Ninth Edition, Vol. II by De La Croix, Tansey, and Kirkpatrick (Copyright 1991, 1986, 1980, 1975, 1970, 1959, copyright 1948, 1936, 1926), pp. 873-874
The Raft of the Medusa. 2013. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pogues.com/Misc/Medusa.html
Great Works: The Raft of the Medusa 1819 [ONLINE] Available at http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-the-raft-of-the-medusa-1819-491x716-cm-th233odore-g233ricault-2203558.html