Jean Louis Theodore Gericault was born in 1791 at Rouen. In 1796 his family moved to Paris, where he attended the Lycee Imperial.
The death of his mother left Gericault with an annuity that allowed him to pursue a career in painting.
He spent in Rome (1816-17), where he admired Michelangelo and Caravaggio and it was here that he prepared a set of studies for the Race of the Barbari Horses which interpreted the ancient world in an innovative and dramatic manner.
In 1819, his enormous painting The Raft of Medusa became instant sensation, not just because of its size (23-1/2 feet wide by 16 feet high), but also because of its tragic subject. At that time he was twenty seven years old.
In this huge painting, it took him eight months to complete, he sought to confront viewers with horror, chaos, and emotion of the tragedy while invoking the grandeur and impact of large scale history painting.
Theodore Gericault (1791-1824)
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