Theodore Gericault: The Complete Story
Theodore Gericault was the young firebrand of French Romanticism, the painter who turned a real political scandal into one of the most harrowing pictures ever made. His giant Raft of the Medusa put shipwreck, death and government failure on the wall of the Salon. He chased raw truth so far that he studied corpses to paint it, and he was dead at thirty two.
To get the bodies right, he brought severed limbs and heads into his studio from the morgue.
Born: Rouen, France, 1791
Known for: The Raft of the Medusa, Romanticism, horses, portraits of the insane
Died: Paris, 1824
A scandal turned into a masterpiece
In 1816 the French frigate Medusa ran aground through official incompetence, and around 150 people were cast onto a makeshift raft. After days of thirst, madness and cannibalism, only a handful survived. The affair became a national scandal. See what is history painting.
Gericault chose this fresh disaster, not an ancient myth, for a huge heroic painting. He interviewed survivors, had a model of the raft built, and showed the exact moment the dying first glimpse a rescue ship on the horizon.
Painting from the morgue
His pursuit of truth was extreme. He visited hospitals and morgues, studied the dying and the dead, and kept severed limbs and a head in his studio to paint decay and flesh accurately.
The result has a terrible reality. The Raft of the Medusa is built like a pyramid of bodies, climbing from despair at the bottom to a desperate flash of hope at the top. See what is romanticism.
Horses and the human mind
Gericault loved horses and painted them with thrilling energy, from cavalry charges to the Epsom Derby. Fittingly and tragically, riding accidents helped kill him young. See what is oil painting.
Near the end he made a startling series of portraits of psychiatric patients, men and women with single obsessions, for a doctor friend. Calm, dignified and deeply human, they were centuries ahead of their time.
Theodore Gericault, common questions
What is Theodore Gericault famous for?
The Raft of the Medusa and for launching the drama and realism of French Romanticism.
Was the Raft based on real events?
Yes, the 1816 wreck of the Medusa, a scandal of incompetence and survival at sea.
Did he really study corpses?
Yes, he brought body parts from the morgue into his studio to paint death truthfully.
When did he die?
In 1824, aged only 32, after a series of riding accidents.
Why the raft still grips
Gericault crammed a lifetime into a short career and changed art on the way. The Raft of the Medusa hangs in the Louvre near the Mona Lisa, and crowds still fall silent before its wall of bodies reaching for a horizon that may not save them.
One last detail. His friend Eugene Delacroix posed for one of the dead figures on the raft, then went on to lead Romanticism into the next generation. The torch passed across a single painted corpse.