The Raft of the Medusa | Théodore Géricault | 1819 Size:24"x16" some on horseback and others

some on horseback and others on foot

These masks would be exaggerated and grotesque

hyper-spherical halo

The scene is reduced to shadow and warm light: darkened undergrowth in the foreground gives way to a distant

The Raft of the Medusa | Théodore Géricault | 1819 Size:24"x16" some on horseback and othersGricault chose to depict this event in order to launch his career with a large scale uncommissioned work on a subject that had already generated great public interest. The event fascinated him, and before he began work on the final painting, he undertook extensive research and produced many preparatory sketches. He interviewed two of the survivors and constructed a detailed scale model of the raft. He visited hospitals and morgues where he could view,