The Raft Of The Medusa

The Raft of the Medusa is one of the most remarkable paintings in history due to its artistic nature and the inspiration. Théodore Géricault, a renowned French painter, designed the design between the years 1818 and 1819 following the Napoleonic war of the 19th century. His paining was inspired by a shipwreck that left almost 40 people dead. The painting was designed from pain and misery, in remembrance of the individuals who died from the shipwreck. However, the image does not depict the whole tale as the story surrounding the incident is too tragic to be put in images. Théodore crafted the image hoping that the art enthusiasts would be able to get a glimpse of the real incident. In his book, Ways of Seeing, John Berger (1972) claims that any image has an outer meaning and a deeper meaning that can only be deduced by people who understand the art and its origin. The next discussion will assist one to derive the main themes of this particular artwork. It will help reveal details such as the timeframe and the source of inspiration of the art. Lastly, it will discuss the impact of the art to the creative industry and the world in general.

The ship crashed into a sandbank with French people who were attempting to colonize Senegal. The life savers who were sent to save the day were futile in their mission and perished with the other individuals. The ship narrowly escaped several maritime battles only to capsize on a sandbank. Out of 150 people who had boarded the ship, 10 survived the shipwreck and only two lived to tell the story. Géricault gathered information from these two witnesses and used it to retell the story though his creative