The Raft of the Medusa

This work marks a turning point in history painting. It takes as its subject a controversial news item questioning the negligence of the government of Louis XVIII in the case of the sinking of a French frigate off the coast of Senegal in 1816. The castaways, abandoned to their fate, had engaged in acts of cannibalism. To paint it, the artist had reconstructed a real raft in his studio and illustrated corpses. In search of realism, Géricault does not abandon a particular neoclassical ideal: his castaways are athletes, and he does not openly represent acts of cannibalism. By placing a man of black color at the top of the human pyramid, did Géricault want to declare slavery? This complex work retains its share of mystery.