Théodore Géricault

Romantic painter Théodore Géricault (1791-1824) created one of art history's most powerful images of human suffering before dying at 32. Born in Rouen to a wealthy family, he trained under Carle Vernet and Pierre-Narcisse Guérin before developing an intensely physical style influenced by Rubens and Michelangelo. His early paintings of cavalry officers captured Napoleonic military spirit with dramatic energy.

The Raft of the Medusa (1818-19) scandalized the Paris Salon with its harrowing depiction of survivors from a contemporary shipwreck. Géricault researched obsessively, interviewing survivors, studying corpses, and building a scale model of the raft. The painting criticized government incompetence that caused the disaster. Disappointed by its French reception, he exhibited it successfully in London. His final works included haunting portraits of asylum patients. A riding accident led to his early death. The Louvre holds The Raft of the Medusa and major works. The Harvard Art Museums preserve important preparatory studies for his masterpiece.