The Raft Of The Medusa Essay

In the time when the French salon would have been looking for a Rococo style painting of important figures and royalty to hang in their gallery they accepted Gericault’s work as it was an extreme change from the typical types of paintings they hung. It represented the nameless souls who fought to stay alive upon the raft. Jeffaris (2005) exclaims “This event was a political scandal - and Gericault's painting - an exposé - a 17th Century tabloid headline!”. They knew it would create a stir and grasp attention, and it has become iconic for the the way in witch it broke traditions. This event had a huge effect publicly because of the fact that the lower ranking people were left behind to die while the wealthier and more important people escaped on life rafts. This is quite metaphorical of the political situation in France in this period (after revolution) as the wealthy got wealthier and the poor were left to starve and die. Its ironic that this painting of such a horrible event was such a symbol of hope for the lower class of France at the time. It showed the strength of the weak and poor, it showed that the lower class had the strength to survive even after the wealthy had taken everything and left them to die. Giving hope to the lower tier of society that anyone can make it regardless of their status. From the description of Medusa (n.d.) the raft of the medusa was “Intended as a political statement about the disorderly state of the French

The effort put in the creation of the mural can be immeditley be conveyed by the precise details of all three natives on the boat. Furthermore, Anton’s style of simplicity by primarly painting in a one-dmesional plane, and using shadows and volumes with colors such as yellow, brown, gray, white, and red to evoke emotions is very apparent in this mural. Rather than focusing on the mural itself, the viewer is forced to anaylze the subject matter. In this mural the matter revolves around the death of almost 250,000 natives due to “general mistreatment, massacere, disiese, disposesssion, and other indigitinieites.” The mistreatment of natives throughout American history has always been problemtic. This mural once again remids indivudals how the land we are standing on was once theirs and setters took it away. In order to expand and grow as a nation, setterls took it the land, sometimes by brute force, from peaceful families like the one in the

Toni Morrison, the 1993 Noble Prize Awardee, for literature became the first African-American and first American women to be so honored. The conferment of the highest honor is not only a personal triumph but also the recognition of the artistry of Afro-American fiction and the validity of the black woman's voice. Her work fills those voids, gaps and silences that have never been articulated in literature. They were the silences of the black women which got their voices in her fiction to make it a feminine discourse. Helene Ciaos in her book The Laugh of The Medusa writes,

In this painting a group of men appear to be lost at sea. The sky and waves indicate that they are in the middle of a storm; in addition, the wooden raft looks as though it has endured a lot of hardship during the course of their journey.The men are piled up on top of each other in a shape of a pyramid. Some of the men are clothed while others are either halfway clothed or not clothed at all. There are approximately five men dead on this raft and others trying to look for help. At the top of the pyramid two men are holding up shirts trying the gain the attention of something in the background. In doing this all their backs are facing the viewer of the painting except for an older man slouching over a dead crew member.

Washington’s Atlanta Compromise speech (which was coincidentally at the same place that Homer was exhibiting his art), he compares the position of blacks in the US to a shipwreck. The sharks are representative of the white man since they are powerful and smart, and it was once said that sharks didn't care for dark skin. The red in the water indicates that there may have been crew members that didn't survive, which further displays the man's abandonment. Caught between the sharks and the impending waterspout, in a sea of violent and red speckled waves, the man's fate seems to be sealed. However, he remains surprisingly calm, propped up with one arm and looking out towards sea. Furthermore, it's said that the boat is representative of a funeral; the broken mast and ripped sail as the shroud, the open hatch like an open tomb, ropes for lowering a body, and the cross on the boat's bow. The painting, symbolizing the dilemma of the black man in a racist world, shows the man in a situation that he is comfortable in. He knows that there is nothing he can do and worrying will not help so he simply sits back to enjoy the view one last time. Homer's intentions were not clear to some, but the negative nature of the painting created some controversy and questioning among viewers. When people started asking questions Homer responded, "I regret very much that I have painted a picture that requires any description....I have crossed the Gulf Stream ten times & I should know

The painting shows landscapes and nature as it is a painting of the ocean. The subjects of the slaves being thrown overboard portrays his affection for humanity, or in this case, maybe the lack of humanity as well as the slaves vulnerability and the vulgarity of the captain in his

If you look at the wave to the left of the picture, it seems that if the wave were any closer, it would swallow up the raft and leave the people gasping for air. The raft is a dark and dirty blue color, almost capturing the mood of the whole photo. It maybe resembles how the people are so close, but so far away from the rescue ship, in the way how the wave is so close, yet so far to engulfing the people. Behind the wave there is a very dark and close cloud. The cloud is almost too close, making you think that it needs to go back where it belongs, in the sky. Yet, it definitely is in the sky, the painter is just making the cloud look closer than it is. The cloud could also resemble the ship in the distance in the sense that the ship could be

Medusa could have been a very prototypical goddess of a matriarchal society. Her hair of snakes and reptilian skin are symbolic of the nature cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Snakes are used due to their shedding of skin, their rebirth toa new skin. This cycle is paralleled with women natural cycle of menstration, which was believed to be synchronized with the cycles of the moon and

In Greek mythology Medusa was one of the three sisters from the group described as gorgons. The sisters were Euryale (far-roaming), Stheno (forceful), and Medusa (the ruler), children of Phorcys and his sister Ceto. The gorgons were defined as monstrous creatures with impenetrable scales, hands made of brass, sharp fangs, beards and living snakes as hair. The sisters were Athena’s priestess and Medusa was the only mortal and perhaps the most beautiful, she was seen as a maiden and many were jealous of her.

Through Medusa, Harriet started to investigate the subjects of female power and female exploitation that would show up all through her profession and works. Her thoughtful depiction of Medusa evaluates routes in which ladies were rebuffed and judged for any sexual conduct regardless of the possibility that it was her result or of some other individual on her. Harriet noticed this aloofness in legendary subject as well as in a considerable lot of her female counterparts like Medusa. With this going further, the artist became dynamic in women’s rights development, now she kept up that in extent to the couple of ladies who prefered battling their own specific manner through the world. She frequently made the ladies figures manly. By denoting these

The Raft of the Medusa depicts the point when, following 13 days unfastened on the raft, the rest of the 15 survivors see a ship drawing closer from a separation (Gehrke, 2006). As indicated by an early British analyst, the work is set at a minute when "the destroy of the pontoon might be said to be finished". The artwork is on a stupendous size of 491 × 716 cm (193.3 × 282.3 in), so the greater part of the figures rendered are life-sized and those in the forefront twice life-estimate, pushed near the photo plane and swarming onto the watcher, who is drawn into the physical activity as a member.

In the painting “Raft of the Medusa”, Theodore Gericault creates a dramatic scene that reflects the historical account of the survivors of the French ship, Medusa. Gericault uses a two-dimensional painting to project the event for viewers to be able to feel and see the emotion and physical stress that was inflicted on the passengers of the Medusa. The narrative painting uses darker, muted colors to convey the feeling of despair. However, it is contrasted by the lighter areas in the background, which represents hope of rescue from a far off ship. Gericault portrays the sailors in the painting longing for help, and he does this by painting every person laying down, sitting down, or dead.

A. Le Radeau de la Méduse or The Raft of the Medusa in English is a French romantic painting by Théodore Géricault. It was painted in 1819. Its dimensions are 491 cm × 716 cm. It’s painted on canvas using oil paint. The painting seems to display about 15 men (still alive) struggle to survive and finding help on the raft in the ocean where the waves and winds appear to be strong. Some of the men in the painting are already dead. Also, the raft appears to be stable in the center but along the ends seems to be falling apart. Therefore, maybe they’ve been at sea for a while. Many of the men are also center towards the middle of the painting so your eyes will be drawn to the center.

If there was ever a painting that historical significance, The Raft of the Medusa would definitely be the one. This painting was considered a major piece of work during the 19th century and this was definitely considered a period piece because it was during the Romantic period. On July 5th1816, a raft went down in shark infested waters off of the coast of Africa, with hundred’s crewmember’s on board and of those men that were there, only 15 survived.

The statue of Perseus with the head of Medusa was constructed from 1545 to 1554 and is similar to other works of art created in the 1500s. It belongs to the Mannerist period. Unlike, the Renaissance period, Mannerism focused on style and how people desired to look. Mannerist works typically looked artificial and exaggerated. This is visible in the statue of Perseus and Medusa because Perseus’ muscle definition is very intense, and the way he’s standing on Medusa’s body looks slightly awkward. This statue looks very similar compared to the many other elaborate statues of the time.