Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault
The Raft of the "Medusa"
1818-1819
Oil on canvas
Louvre, Paris, France
This painting caused a sensation when it was first exhibited at the 1819 Salon. This, in turn, led to scandal; the Government interpreted it as an blatant political attack.
The shipwreck of the frigate Medusa took place in June 1816 near the West African coast. The crew left 150 passengers to their fate on a raft. When, two weeks later, the raft was found, there were only 15 survivors, 5 of them died after rescue. Many had resorted to canabilism. The case was silenced by the government, and when, a year later, it became public knowledge, it caused rage and criticism of governmental negligence and corruption.
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Why [Chamaureys] should have been appointed captain in the first place, how the Medusa managed to separate from the three other vessels it was in convoy with, why he and his brother officers took a frigate into waters avoided by even (smaller) brigantines, how and why it foundered in perfect sailing conditions, and why there was insufficient capacity in the lifeboats.
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REF:
http://www.ciaonet.org/isa/mcm04/
Géricault went to great lengths to ensure accuracy in Raft of the Medusa. He created several preliminary studies, used cadavers as models and even intereviewed some of the few survivors.
A detailed description of the Medusa tragedy can be found at
http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/medusa/ and at Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa
Mr Mephisto