Analysis of a Narrative in a Painting: Raft of Medusa by Théodore Géricault

Choose one narrative work (any medium) and discuss the storytelling techniques employed by the artist and how effective these were in communicating the narrative

Narrative art is the term given to artworks that conveys a story. In narrative art, “the artist chooses how to portray the story, represent the space, and how to shape time within the artwork.” There are different types of narrative arts such as monoscenic narrative, simultaneous narrative, continuous narrative, to name a few. A monoscenic narrative artwork refers to an entire narrative is represented with only one single scene. Raft of medusa is a very good example of a monoscenic narrative painting.

Figure1: The Raft of the Medusa, Théodore Géricault, 1818-1819, oil on canvas, 491 cm × 716 cm

To give a brief background of Raft of medusa, the French Romantic painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault did this painting in 1816. Théodore Géricault was one of the pioneers of the French Romantic movement. The narrative of the Raft of Medusa is about the incident of the French frigate Medusa that ran aground off the coast of Mauritania. Only 147 passengers and crew had managed to get on a lifeboat that later on led them to 13 days of terrible hardship. Among the 147, only 15 have luckily survived from that incident and those who managed to survive had been through starvation, dehydration and were forced to practice cannibalism. “The painting asks profound questions about the nature of survival, barbarism, and the miracle of human resilience in the face of the awesome and unforgiving power of nature, as well as the inner-struggle for meaning and purpose we all face.”

In this painting, different layers of narrative can be seen. Therefore, there is a need for us to dist...

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3.Lopes, Dominic M. Sight and Sensibility: Evaluating Pictures. England: Oxford University Press, 2005. Questia. Accessed March 15, 2014. http://www.questia.com/library/110185044/sight-and-sensibility-evaluating-pictures.

Online Periodicals
1.Dehejia, Vidya. “On Modes of Visual Narration in Early Buddhist Art.” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 72, No. 3 (Sep, 1990), pp. 374–392

2.Christiansen, Rupert. The Victorian Visitors: Culture Shock in Nineteenth-Century Britain". New York Times, June 3, 2001. Retrieved on January 04, 2008.

Online Documents
1.Glover, Michael. "Great Works: The Raft of the Medusa 1819 (491x716 cm), Théodore Géricault." February 4, 2011. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/great-works/great-works-the-raft-of-the-medusa-1819-491x716-cm-th233odore-g233ricault-2203558.html.