The Raft of the Medusa: Gericault Master Ptg. French Ship Wreck off NW Africa 1816, Heroic Black Man

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Last edited Fri Oct 11, 2024, 01:42 PM - Edit history (1)

- 'The Raft of the Medusa' by French Romantic painter Theodore Gericault, Great Art Explained.
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🎨 Wiki, Ed. The Raft of the Medusa is an oil painting of 1818–19 by the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault (1791–1824).

Completed when the artist was 27, the work has become an icon of French Romanticism. At 16 ft. by 23 ft., it is an over-life-size painting that depicts a moment from the aftermath of the wreck of the French naval frigate Méduse, which ran aground off the coast of today's Mauritania on 2 July 1816. The frigate's mission was to accept the British return of Senegal under the terms of France's acceptance of the Peace of Paris.

On 5 July 1816, at least 147 people were set adrift on a hurriedly constructed raft; all but 15 died in the 13 days before their rescue, and those who survived endured starvation and dehydration and practiced cannibalism (one custom of the sea). The event became an international scandal, in part because its cause was widely attributed to the incompetence of the French captain. In an effort to make good time, Méduse overtook the other ships, but due to poor navigation it drifted 100 mi off course.

On 2 July, it ran aground on a sandbank off the West African coast, near today's Mauritania.

The collision was widely blamed on the incompetence of De Chaumereys who lacked experience and ability.

Efforts to free the ship failed, so, on 5 July, the frightened passengers and crew started an attempt to travel the 60 mi to the African coast in the frigate's 6 boats. Although the Méduse was carrying 400 people, including 160 crew, there was space for only about 250 in the boats. The remainder of the ship's complement and half of a contingent of marine infantrymen—at least 146 men and one woman—were piled onto a hastily built raft, that partially submerged once it was loaded. 17 crew members opted to stay aboard the grounded Méduse.

The captain and crew aboard the other boats intended to tow the raft, but after only a few miles the raft was turned loose.

For sustenance the crew of the raft had only a bag of ship's biscuit (consumed on the first day), 2 casks of water (lost overboard during fighting) and 6 casks of wine. Géricault, who was an abolitionist, hired a Haitian model named Joseph to paint at least 2 Black individuals on the raft. Joseph served as a model for what is considered to be Jean Charles, a military officer waving a dark red handkerchief in hopes of being noticed by the passing ship. Géricault's work attracted wide attention from its first showing and the Louvre aqcuired it after the his death at age 32.

The painting's influence can be seen in the works of Eugène Delacroix, J. M. W. Turner, Gustave Courbet, and Édouard Manet...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa