The Raft Of The Medusa

During the Napoleonic Wars, the French cruiser Méduse served in the Mediterranean. It survived the battles, but it was destroyed when it fell into a sandbank in July 1816 while bringing passengers to Senegal. The 400 passengers and crew members on board were forced to abandon the ship, with 151 of them being placed on a raft. The men on board the raft were forced to undergo a terrifying predicament. In addition, numerous troops were washed into the sea by a storm; others revolted and were put to death by their leaders; survivors engaged in cannibalism; and when supplies ran out, handicapped men were pushed into the water.

It took 13 days at sea for the raft to be discovered, with only 15 men still alive. The incident caused widespread public shame around the world. Théodore Géricault painstakingly investigated the situation before creating The Raft Of The Medusa, which is now considered a masterpiece. The Raft of the Medusa has had a significant impact on French art, and it is widely considered a classic work of French Romanticism, as well as having immortalized the calamity that it depicts.

Author: Théodore Géricault