Lithographic printing matrix for “Lion Devouring a Horse”

1817–1818

Investigating the disaster: survivors, a model raft, morgues

Géricault re-created the event by studying the available materials and meeting witnesses: he got to know Corréard and Savigny, a carpenter from the Méduse made a scale model of the raft for him, and the artist modelled wax figures himself. He visited hospital morgues, drawing dead heads, emaciated bodies and severed limbs, and the preparation ended with a trip to Le Havre, where he painted studies of sea and sky.

c. 1818 – 1819

Delacroix poses for a dying figure

The painter Eugène Delacroix posed for one of the dying figures in “The Raft of the Medusa”.

1819

“The Raft of the Medusa” sparks a political controversy at the Salon

When first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1819, “The Raft of the Medusa” ignited political controversy: it indicted a corrupt establishment, in which the captain had left the crew and passengers to die, but also dramatized the eternal struggle of man against nature.

12 June – 30 December 1820

London: 50,000 visitors and 20,000 francs

The entrepreneur Bullock exhibited “The Raft of the Medusa” in London from 12 June to 30 December 1820; about 50,000 people saw it, critics called it a masterpiece, and its author was compared to Michelangelo and Caravaggio. Géricault was entitled to a third of the ticket receipts and received 20,000 francs.

1820–1821

London: urban poverty and friendship with Charlet

In London Géricault witnessed urban poverty, made drawings of his impressions and published lithographs based on these observations, free of sentimentality. He associated much there with Charlet, the lithographer and caricaturist.

1821–1824

Illness and falls from horses after his return from England

After returning to Paris from England Géricault was often ill, and his condition was made worse by several falls during horseback rides.