The Raft Of The Medusa By Theodore Gericault

When I look at this painting filled with distinctive brown, black and yellow strokes amongst the background of men portrayed as savages laying on top of each other, the artist Theodore Gericault, transports me to a scene that elicits countless emotions. The oil painting, The Raft of the Medusa, depicts the story of a French Royal Navy frigate that set sail in 1816 to colonize Senegal. Unfortunately, the incompetent captain had run the ship into a sandbank, forcing the 150 survivors to create a raft from the wreckage. After 13 days adrift with no food and water, I believe this painting depicts the exact moment when all of hell breaks loose.

From that point on, I believe this incredible painting narrates a story of humanity versus nature. The gory scene of fellow comrades eating each other and throwing their friends off the raft as means for survival depicts the

This astoundingly emotional painting portrays the scene of when the best of men turn animals. They have traded all sense of morals in exchange for a chance to live. The use of the bold dark colors of the sky in addition to the deep dark stormy blue sea also brings forth the despair and hopelessness of the survivors. However, the use of light red and orange around the raft reflects the amount of bloodshed from the fight on the raft and signifies the death of the killed comrades. As I look closer, I see that all of the remaining survivors are turned toward the horizon with red and white cloths in their hand like a signal. To me, it seems as if they are trying to signal someone or something to come and save them from the raft. I believe the only man not facing the horizon (bottom left), but instead facing the dead comrades signifies that he is only feeling guilt and has lost all sense of hope of his soul being rescued, no matter if his body is rescued. That is why he doesn’t care