A selection of his early paintings, and an account of the year he spent preparing and painting his masterwork, the Raft of the Medusa.
Géricault
From Tintoretto in the 1560s, through the canonical Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault, to Delacroix’s Shipwreck of the Don Juan.
Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa, Gérôme’s gladiators, Émile Claus and Luminism, Boudin on the beach, and into the skies with Hans Thoma’s herons.
An outline summary and links to each of the articles in this series.
His starting point was Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa, progressed through reportage of the Greek War of Independence, the invention of Orientalism, and much more.
A fun scene from Orlando Furioso, Ophelia’s death, two scenes from Jerusalem Delivered, one of the earliest works painted from a photo, and small boats in rough seas.
Hamlet, including the first visualisation of Ophelia’s death; Christopher Columbus, Medea about to kill her sons, and shipwreck survivors in a small boat.
Two major works showing the plight of Greeks during their war of independence, first signs of Orientalism, and several literary narratives.
Started training in 1815, first commission in 1819, set his sights on the Salon of 1822, and made his name with ‘The Barque of Dante’.
Overview of David’s Neoclassicism, his teacher Guérin, the influence of Constable and Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa, his friends, and rival Ingres.
The Eclectic Light Company 