The Raft of the Medusa
The artist
Theodore Gericault, a young French Romantic painter known for powerful, emotional pictures.
What you see
A group of people are gathered on a wooden raft at sea, hopefully waving toward a tiny ship far away on the horizon.
The story
Painted in 1819, it tells the true story of survivors of a shipwreck who were finally rescued after a long, hard journey.
The style
Gericault used dramatic light and a pyramid shape of figures reaching upward to fill the scene with hope and effort.
Look closer
Look at the top of the raft, where one person waves a cloth to signal the faraway ship for help.
Where to see it
You can see it at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where it is a very large and impressive painting on the wall.
Fun fact
The painting is enormous, taller than a room, so the people on the raft look almost life-sized when you stand near it.