The people in the lifeboats (perhaps fearing for their own lives), cut the ropes towing the raft after a bit, and with barely any food, drink or life sustaining supplies and no way of steering or navigating, the raft drifted into the swell of the Atlantic… Human nature always seems to be either at its worst or its best during times of crisis, and there does not appear to be any signs of heroism emerging from this particular historical debacle. Seventeen soldiers and crew remained on the ship in order to protect her cargo, while 250 passengers were placed in the lifeboats and 147 souls were packed like sardines onto the raft, which was being towed by the lifeboats. However, inclement weather whipped up a storm that hit them on 5 th July 1816 and the captain, fearing the Méduse would break apart, gave the order to abandon ship. Raft of Méduse at the moment of its abandonment by Alexandre Corréard Initially, it was decided that the lifeboats would make two return runs to shore (around thirty miles away) in order to get everyone to safety, and a raft was hastily built, twenty metres long and seven metres wide, to transport the ship’s cargo. Stranded off the West African coast, the Méduse listed helplessly. Another unconscionable decision with others to follow that would cost more lives. Perhaps the ignominy made too big a dent in his pride, as de Chaumareys refused to offload the heavy cannons on board the Méduse so she could be re-floated. Inevitably, the Medusa struck a large sandbank. In his attempt to impress the new governor and important guests, the captain sailed too fast and too close to the shore (ignoring the warnings of a senior crew member), in his bid to arrive at their before the accompanying vessels. There were only enough lifeboats to accommodate 250 passengers on the voyage should the need arise. The Méduse was not the first vessel to not carry enough lifeboats for all its passengers, and sadly it has not been the last. It was an act of unparalleled hubris by the French monarch, as Monsieur de Chaumareys proved himself to be incompetent and grossly negligent for the unnecessary deaths of many of his passengers and crew. The king overlooked the fact that he had hardly sailed for twenty years, and was clearly unsuitable for the posting. Louis XVIII of France in Coronation Robes by Francois Gerard The Raft of the Medusa depicts the harrowing and calamitous historical outcome of the ill-fated voyage of the French Navy’s forty gun Frigate Méduse, carrying around 400 passengers (including the new Governor and his wife), plus various French officials who were en-route to reclaim Senegal from the British. But in my humble opinion he has earned a place at the table of the greats with this heart-rending work. Who knows what Géricault might have produced had he been gifted with a few more years to bestow his artistic talent on the world. Many artists, composers and writers were under appreciated or misunderstood in their prime… In the spirit of originality they were simply being true to themselves, following their inner compass, regardless of the trends, thoughts and fashions of the time. Yet of the prolific oeuvre of 900 paintings he produced in his lifetime, he sold only one: Red Vineyard at Arles. Probably the ghost of Vincent van Gogh would be flabbergasted (but happy), to know the sums of money passing hands for his prized paintings or of his universal popularity and posthumous fame. Géricault didn’t live long enough to see his paining achieve its greatness, but that seems to be the way of things for many artists and creatives. Théodore Géricault, a courageous, passionate, Romantic era French painter and lithographer, sadly passed away from tuberculosis at the tender age of thirty three. You can almost hear the men’s hoarse cries in an attempt to draw attention to their desperate plight, mustering their last ounce of strength to shout and wave a stained, ripped shirt. The Argus can only just be seen on the horizon. The Raft of the Medusa portrays a brief moment of euphoria as the men on the raft spot another ship in the distance, hoping and praying to be rescued after thirteen horrific days at sea. Le Radeau de la Meduse by Théodore Géricault c.
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