Está en la página 1de 5

Preface

The process I went through to create my paper was long and difficult. I had originally

picked out a Dr. Suisse political cartoon but found out that the picture was very blunt. So I chose

a painting that I learned about in my art history class which was “The Raft of the Medusa.” What

was most frustrating was picking out and audience and trying to plan out everything I had

wanted to say about the painting, also adding research elements without plagiarism. I have never Comment [AU1]: That’s difficult, but the more
you practice the easier it becomes.

written an analysis paper before so this was the first but what I learned from this paper was that

analyzing does not always have to be about someone else’s writing but about an illustration or a

topic in a new paper etc. The next step in my paper is so review the teacher comments I receive Comment [AU2]: Yes, that’s correct. Hopefully,
you’ll get to apply this skill later in your academic
career.
on this paper and develop it more. I feel that I have explained, researched and analyzed

everything about this painting but I still feel a little unsure if it is cohesive and flows well.
The Medusa

Theodore Gericault is a well known

Romantic artist of the 19th Century.

Although he was a realist throughout most

of his career, Gericault’s works still

showcased the characteristics of

Figure 1 Romanticism, emphasizing strong emotions

and capturing the beautiful essence and the awe of nature. These characteristics are clearly seen

through his masterpiece “The Raft of the Medusa” which was inspired by the 1816 ship wrecked

of the French Government ship The Medusa. Gericault uses this painting to express deep Comment [AU3]: Make sure you cite this info. in
the final draft.

emotions such as despair, hope, and the awe of nature. Through the painting “The Raft of the

Medusa,” Gericault demonstrates the traits of Romanticism by his methods of preparation, and

his emphasis on emotion and nature. Comment [AU4]: Your thesis, right?

In 1816, The French ship “The Medusa,” was ship-wrecked on its voyage to Senegal.

With a limited number of lifeboats for the crew, a raft was quickly put together from the upper

part of the ship. This raft was then towed by the captain as he rowed on the single lifeboat

holding on to the remaining crew but once in the water the lifeboat lines were broken, and the

raft drifted off, carrying the ship’s crew of 150 men. A few days later, the rafted was spotted and

brought to safety. Out of 150 men crew only 10 was rescued (Phil). This story became the main

focus of Gericault’s painting “The Medusa”. Comment [AU5]: A nice brief summation of the
contextual information.

As a Romantic artist, Gericault believed in experiencing an event before painting it. And

that is exactly what Gericault tried to achieve through this painting. He had investigated the story,

interviewed survivors of this ship wreck, making sure he did his best to authenticate the painting
(Worldline, and Capgemini) For weeks, he studied decaying bodies, sketching limbs and body parts

of the dead for it was said that the sailor were forced to cannibalize due to the lack of supplies.

He built a life-size raft in his studio and tied himself to the mast of the life-size boat. He tried to

capture the grim detail as much as he could, painting and brainstorming many different scenes

before deciding on a final composition ("Paralumun New Age Village"). Gericault went through all

these steps for one purpose and that was to get the atmosphere, feeling, and the overall mood as

the sailors drifted at sea. Gericault wanted to be in their shoes to feel what they felt so that this

painting could be as authentic as possible. This demonstrates the Romantic characteristic of an

Artist to have an aesthetic experience. Comment [AU6]: True.

Gericault also represents Romanticism by emphasizing the paradox emotions of hope and

despair. In the center of the painting there is a large pyramid created by dead figures on the

bottom, dying figures in the middle and the lively

figures in the center right, waving a cloth in

hopes of being rescued (fig.2 the red pyramid). Comment [AU7]: Make sure to cite the source
for this instructive graphic .

And then there is an over lapping of a smaller

pyramid solely focused on the men of hope to the

middle right of this painting (fig.2 the blue


Figure 2

pyramid). This rise of death to hope and the juxtaposition of the emotions despair and hope help

establish the two opposing tones of the paining. By placing these two emotions side by side, they Comment [AU8]: A very perceptive analysis here.
If these are your original ideas, then you do not
have to cite this information.
complement one another making the individual emotion, hope or despair, to be felt within the

piece. Also the viewers can get a sense of how the sailors felt as they drifted off to sea. Some

hopeful as they spotted a ship in the horizon while others were doubtful and awaited death.
Gericault chooses these strong conflicting emotions because it represented the Romantic trait of

emphasizing feeling and to engage the viewer into the painting. Comment [AU9]: Your crafted a nice paragraph.

Another trait of Romanticism that Gericault portrays through this painting is the awe of

nature. There is a lot of imagery in this painting which emphasize the romantic’s amazement of

and connection to nature but one example is the wave to your left of the painting. The wave Comment [AU10]: Or the raft?

appears large and dark, threatening to swamp the raft. But the wave almost looks surreal and

disproportional compared to the life-boat, looking way to close to be the size it is (Fig.1). This

wave draws in the viewer almost as if the painting is sucking them in but just above this wave is

a ray of hope breaking through the lowering cumulus cloud. This opposition of light and dark not

only shows the emotional theme of hope and despair but also the admiration and fear of nature.

The dark ominous wave represents the roughness of the sea and how it can toss and turn but the

beam of light shining above it represents how clam it can be. That even though there is chaos,

hopelessness, and despair, Gericault chooses to paint the sea in this manner to show a sense of

serenity and the power of nature.

Through his determination to authenticate the story of the ship-wreck and his strong

emphasis on the emotions and nature, Gericault not only tells the stories of sailors but also makes

the view think of the life and world they live in, a world where it is Man vs. Man and Man vs.

nature. Gericault tried his best to put himself into the shoes of the sailor so that he capture every

bit of detail as possible and his authenticity to story demonstrated the Romantics idea of

experience before painting. With his strong accent on hope, despair and nature, Gericault

demonstrated the Romantics idea of reaching beyond the rational and capturing the mood and

feeling of a certain time. And with this painting, Gericault has truly made his mark in the world

of Art.
Work Cited Comment [AU11]: No need to list the HMTL
anymore.

Phil, Jefferis. ""Raft of the Medusa"-Theodore Gericault (1819)." OpenSpace 2005: n. pag. Web.

23 Mar 2011. <http://www.thompsondunn.co.uk/newsletter2/page16.html>.

"The Raft of the Medusa." Art&Preception. Web. 23 Mar 2011.

<http://artandperception.com/2007/10/gericaults-the-raft-of-the-medusa-by-tree.html>

"The Raft of the Medusa." Listening to Golem. Web. 23 Mar 2011.

<http://listeningtogolem.blogspot.com/2010/01/raft-of-medusa.html>

"The Raft of the Medusa Painting." Paralumun New Age Village. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar 2011.

<http://www.paralumun.com/raft.htm>.

Worldline, Atos, and Capgemini. "The Raft of the Medusa." Louvre. The Louvre's Internet

Department, 2011. Web. 23 Mar 2011.

<http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en>.

También podría gustarte