Why it matters
Géricault's enormous painting shows survivors of the wrecked frigate Méduse, set adrift on a raft in 1816: a disaster that became an international scandal. Only 15 of the roughly 150 people on the raft survived the 13 days before rescue. Painted by an artist of just 27, it became an icon of French Romanticism.
Did you know?
- It measures 491 × 716 cm.
- Géricault interviewed two survivors, built a scale model of the raft and studied the dying and dead in hospitals and morgues.
- Its original title was simply Scène de Naufrage (Shipwreck Scene).
Based on the Wikipedia article The Raft of the Medusa (CC BY-SA 4.0).
