The Masterpiece of a Tragedy

Many know the large painting hanging in the Salle Mollien of the Louvre by Théodore Géricault but did you know it was based on a true story? Le Radeau de la Méduse (The Raft of the Medusa) was painted in 1818 when Géricault was 27 years old. It depicts the story of the French ship Medusa, a 40-gun Pallas frigate that was used during the Napoleonic Wars in 1810. On June 17, 1816, the Medusa left the port of Aix alongside three other ships in the fleet; the Loire, Argus, and Echo. 

The Medusa captain Viscount Hugues Duroy de Chaumereys decided to make up some time and passed the other ships. A novice captain, Chaumereys hasn't been on a ship in over twenty years and was chosen by Louis XVIII for his dedication to the Bourbons. 

On 2 July 1816 the Medusa hit a sandbar on the West African coast at the Banc d’Arguin, 80 km off the Mauritania coast. Following three days of trying to free the Medusa from its captivity in the sand, it was decided that the crew would abandon the ship. Only six small boats were available and would hold only half of its crew and were reserved mostly for the elite and high-ranking officers.  A raft was quickly built to hold the heavy items on board. Guns, casks of wine, water, and food tied the raft to the boats but when it was difficult to navigate the captain decided to cut the raft loose.  When the raft was set free 147 people clung to the partially submerged makeshift plank. 

The worst was to happen with only biscuits, two casks of water, and casks of wine (gotta love the French) and floating under the hot sun. As their raft mates died, they were eaten by the others to survive or pushed into the sea. Many men dived directly into the sea to their death. Thirteen days later on July 17, only fifteen members remained when the Argus spotted them. Five more men died before they reached shore, and only ten men survived the two-week ordeal. 

The following February, Chamereys had to face the court and was sentenced to three years in prison. The story captured all of France and when a story was published in November 1817, the young Théodore Géricault was drawn in. The story interviewed two of the servers Henri Savigny and Alexandre Corréard recalling their harrowing tales. Géricault was enthralled and reached out to meet with the two men. With their help, he began to sketch and even make a scale model of the raft and captured the moment that was just two hours before they were saved. They even serve as models for a few of the men in the final painting. So dedicated to getting every detail correct, Géricault spent time at the morgue and even brought body parts from the hospital to his studio to study how the body decays. 

Survivor Alexandre Corréard was an engineer and journalist who wrote the eyewitness account of the tragedy and published it. That act had him fired from his job as an engineer which led him to seek a license on September 9, 1818, and open a bookstore at the Palais Royal.  He named his shop, Au Naufrage de la Medusa, and people flocked to the store to buy the book and meet the author. 

Doctor Henri Savigny, was one of three that volunteered to take the raft. On his arrival in Paris, he testified at the Ministry of the Navy against the captain. When he co-authored the detailed account with Corréard he found instant fame. One other man that was integral to the raft was carpenter Valery Touche-Lavilette. Born on April 26, 1789, he served in the Imperial Guard for two years and was asked to go to Senegal to hope for colonization. It was Valery that help create and build the raft that stayed afloat the entire voyage. 

Their eyewitness accounts were the bases of Géricault’s early sketches of the painting. Two of which can be found in the Louvre, show a few slight differences from the final version. The first sketch shows the raft’s position off from the one we know so well. If you look closely at each of the figures you can see how they changed and why I love to find earlier sketches of these monumental works. It’s like getting a glimpse into the artist's mind. 

The piece became so large that Géricault had to rent a studio to hold the canvas that was 16 x 23 feet and added to its mystique. A good friend, Eugene Delacroix, paid a visit to the atelier on the Rue Saint Honoré, and after he saw the piece he ran home through the streets amazed and inspired if you look at Liberty Leading the People you see Géricault’s influence in the lower left of the painting.

The large painting perfectly captures the fear and urgency of the effort to survive. When you look at it, it can bring all sorts of emotions. On the lower left side, the older man draped in a red cloth holds his dead son's body at the edge of the raft with a look of total despair. In the foreground, the men look to be barely holding onto life and the raft and ready to be swept to sea from the high waves about to break over them. Géricault added twenty figures when in truth it was fifteen historically at the time. If you look at the man in the bottom right corner, the one with his face down is his dear friend Delacroix. 

In the center of the painting, the men have discovered a boat and are pointing it out to the others. At the top of the pyramid, the model discovered a few years ago in the amazing Black Model exhibit at the Musée d'Orsay, is Joseph. Joseph was a stunning model from Santo Domingo that arrived in Paris in 1804. Géricault loved to paint him and used him for three figures and is also the hero of the painting. Raising the red scarf high above him he signals the ship that will eventually save them. 

On August 25, 1819, The Raft of the Medusa was presented at the salon under the name Scene of the Shipwreck. Winning the gold medal but being left without a buyer, it was deemed a failure. The painting returned to his studio until the next year when he was paid 20,000 francs to bring it to London in the Egyptian Hall of Piccadilly then it was onto Dublin in 1821. 

The Louvre on behalf of the director general  Count Auguste de Forbin purchased the painting on November 12, 1824, for 6,000 and since then it has hung in the Louvre. It was saldy 10 months after Gericault died. In 1859 the Louvre ordered a copy that you can see today in Amiens at the Picardy Museum. Pierre Desire Guillemet and Etienne Antoine Ronjat created the copy.

Gericault use a substance called bitumen which made the dark browns and black darker. Bitumen never fully dries and the painting could not be rolled or it would stick to each itself and tear. During the evacuation of the Louvre on September 3, 1939, the large canvas traveled through Versailles on a truck used to move stage scenery. As it went through the town it hit a power line and knocked the power out of the golden town. The Raft was hidden away during the war in the Chateau de Chambord. Since its return in 1945, it has hung on the first floor of the Denon wing in the red room of the Salle Mollien just a few steps from the Mona Lisa. Look at all of the paintings in this room including Delacroix and the other Romantic artists and see the way they each speak to each other.

Théodore Géricault wouldn’t live much longer after he painted his masterpiece. Dying at just 32 years old on January 26, 1824. You can visit his tomb at the Pere Lachaise and find a bronze basrelief of the Raft done by Antoine Étex, but notice that they covered the naked naughty parts of the gentleman falling into the water. 

The painting is also a good test of how you see the world. Which parts strike you the most? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the hope and elation at the top or is it the despair at the lower portion? Either way, it is a masterpiece and I never get tired of sitting in front of it alone on an early morning before the room is filled or sharing it with clients.

The Masterpiece of a Tragedy

Many know the large painting hanging in the Salle Mollien of the Louvre by Théodore Géricault but did you know it was based on a true story? Le Radeau de la Méduse (The Raft of the Medusa) was painted in 1818 when Géricault was just 27 years old. It depicts the story of the French ship Medusa, a 40-gun Pallas frigate that was used during the Napoleonic Wars in 1810. On June 17 1816, the Medusa left the port of Aix  alongside three other ships in the fleet; the Loire, Argus and Echo. 

The Medusa captain Viscount Hugues Duroy de Chaumereys decided to make up some time and passed the other ships. A novice captain Chaumereys hasn't been on a ship in over twenty years and was chosen by Louis XVIII for his dedication to the Bourbons. 

 On 2 July, 1816 the Medusa hit a sandbar on the West African coast at the Banc d’Arguin, 80 km off the Mauritania coast. Following three days of trying to free the Medusa from its captivity in the sand, it was decided that the crew would abandon the ship. Only six small boats were available and would hold only half of its crew and were reserved mostly for the elite and high-ranking officers.  A raft was quickly built to hold the heavy items on board. Guns,casks of wine and water and food, tied the raft to the boats but when it was difficult to navigate the captain decided to cut the raft loose.  When the raft was set free 147 people clung to the partially submerged makeshift plank. 

With only biscuits, two casks of water and six casks of wine (gotta love the French) and floating under the hot sun the worst was to happen. As their raft mates died, they were eaten by the others to survive or pushed into the sea. Thirteen days later on June 17 only fifteen members remained when they were spotted by the Argus. 

The following February, Chamereys had to face the court and was sentenced to three years in prison. The story captured all of France and when a story was published in November 1817, the young Théodore Géricault was drawn in. The story interviewed two of the servers Henri Savigny and Alexandre Corréard recalling their harrowing tales. Géricault was enthralled and reached out to meet with the two men. WIth their help he began to sketch and even make a scaled model of the raft and captured the moment that was just two hours before they were saved. They even serve as models for a few of the men in the final painting. So dedicated to getting every detail correct, Géricault spent time at the morgue and even brought body parts to his studio to study how the body decayed. 

Géricault’s early sketches of the painting, two of which are in the Louvre, show a few slight differences from the final version. The first sketch shows the position of the raft off from the one we know so well. If you look closely at each of the figures you can see how they changed and why I love to find earlier sketches of these monumental works. It’s like getting a glimpse into the artist's mind. 

The piece became so large that Géricault had to rent a studio to hold the canvas that was 16 x 23 feet and added to its mystique. A good friend, Eugene Delacroix, paid a visit to the atelier  and after he saw the piece he ran home through the streets amazed and inspired and if you look at Liberty Leading the People you see Géricault’s influence. 

The large painting perfectly captures the fear and urgency of the effort to survive. When you look at it, it can bring all sorts of emotions. At the lower left side the older man draped in a red cloth holds his dead son's body at the edge of the raft with a look of total despair. In the foreground, the men look to be barely holding onto life and the raft and ready to be swept to sea from the high waves about to break over them. Géricault added twenty figures, when in truth it was fifteen historically at the time. If you look at the man in the bottom right corner, the one with his face down is his dear friend Delacroix. 

In the center of the painting the men have discovered a boat and are pointing it out to the others. At the top of the pyramid the model, discovered a few years ago in the amazing Black Model exhibit at the Musée d'Orsay, is Joseph. Joseph was a stunning model from Santo Domingo that arrived in Paris in 1804. Géricault loved to paint him and used him for three figures and is also the hero of the painting. Raising the red scarf high above him he signals the ship that will eventually save them. 

On August 25, 1819 The Raft of the Medusa was presented at the salon under the name Scene of the Shipwreck. Winning the gold medal but left without a buyer, it was deemed a failure. The painting returned to his studio where it stayed until the next year when he was paid 20,000 francs to bring it to London in the Egyption hall of Piccadilly then it was onto Dublin in 1821. 

The Louvre on the behalf of the director general  Count Auguste de Forbin purchased the painting on November 12, 1824 for 6,000 and since then it has hung in the Louvre. In 1859 the Louvre ordered a copy that you can see today in Amiens at the Picardy Museum. The copy was created by Pierre Desire Guillemet and Etienne Antoine Ronjat.

During the evacuation of the Louvre on September 3, 1939, the large canvas traveled through Versailles on a truck used to move stage scenery. As it went through the town it hit a power line and knocked the power out of the golden town. The Raft was hidden away during the war in the Chateau de Chambord. Since its return in 1945  it has hung on the first floor of the Denon wing in the red room of the Salle Mollien just a few steps from the Mona Lisa. Look at all of the paintings in this room including Delacroix and the other Romantic artists and see the way they each speak to each other. 

Théodore Géricault wouldn’t live much longer after he painted his masterpiece. Dying at just 32 years old on January 26, 1824. You can visit his tomb at the Pere Lachaise and find a bronze bas relief of the Raft done by Antoine Étex, but notice that they covered the naked naughty parts of the gentleman falling into the water. 

The painting is also a good test in how you see the world. Which parts strike you the most? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Do you see the hope and elation at the top or is it the despair at the lower portion? Either way it is a masterpiece and I never get tired of sitting in front of it alone on an early morning before the room is filled with people. 

The Last Empress of France

The Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, was born in Spain and at a very early age she and her family had to flee to France when her father decided to support the Napoleonic Wars. Educated at the Convent du Sacre Coeur for a year she would eventually go to the Royal York Crescent in Bristol to learn English where fellow students called her the “carrot” due to her red hair.

At 23 her mother took her to a party at the Elysees Palace on April 12, 1849 where Louis-Napoleon would see her for the first time. For two years he chased after her and she constantly pushed him away until she finally gave in. On January 30, 1853 the two were married in Notre Dame, after Viollet le Duc had to redecorate the facade and inside in the middle of construction. On March 16, 1856 they had their one and only child, Napoleon Eugene Bonaparte. Filling her role and giving an heir to the throne, she swore off ever sleeping with her husband again, a horrible and disgusting act, she said.

Eugénie was obsessed with Josephine and Marie Antoinette and designed her homes in the decor of her idols. She was also a huge supporter of women's equality and artists. It was Eugéne that gave girls the ability to take the baccalaureate. After years of trying she successfully managed to award the Legion d’Honor to artist Rosa Bonheur. Napoleon wanted nothing to do with it and wouldn’t allow a ceremony so Eugéne took the medal to Rosa herself.

While Napoleon went to battle during the Franco Prussian war, Eugéne stayed in Paris and served as regent working with the government and generals. When her husband surrendered to the Prussians she was so mad she told him he should have killed himself then to dishonor France like he did.

Eventually she had to flee France for England and would outlive her husband by almost 50 years, dying at 94 years old on this day, July 11, 1920.

Listen to her entire story and episode filled with fascinating life with many twists and turns.

The Mischievous Artist that captured Paris

The self taught painter that captured the people of Paris was born on this day in 1761. Louis-Leopold Boilly had a way of depicting the streets and gatherings between the Revolution and the Restoration. His first painting was shown at the Salon of 1791 and he quickly garnered the attention of the elite who wanted him to paint their portraits.

His paintings can be found in a small room in the Musée du Louvre but recently a fantastic exhibit dedicated to him was held at the Musée Cognac-Jay that I was thrilled to see. A few things that will catch your eye when it comes to his paintings as there is always a bit of humor, fashion and even a bit of naughtiness. Inspired by Frogonard, his paintings behind closed doors got him in a lot of trouble during the Revolution and was marked for a period as being too offensive and hurt his commissions.

Two of his most popular paintings The Public Viewing of David’s Coronation painted in 1810 after he saw the crowds gathered to see the monumental work and The Reunion d’artistes dans l’Atelier d’Isabey did what he did best, gathering large groups of notable figures. In the Atelier all of the great artists, architects and sculptors of the time are shown overlooking the canvas of Isabey.

He was also a master of tromp l’oeil, an idea rarely used at the time and he always had a little fun with it. A cat that broke through the back of a canvas or a broken glass frame usually comes with a small portrait of the artist himself. In many of his large crowd scenes he added his own face into most of them and it’s your very own 19th century Where’s Waldo.

With a knack for finishing a portrait in 2 hours, the artists is said to have captured over 5,000 faces, His small portraits of the creme de la creme of the time were on hand but even more can be found at the Musée Marmottan Monet all year. They really are amazing to see up close and as a total collection and makes you wonder what story each of these people held.

Be sure to visit his paintings in the Louvre on the 2nd floor of the Sully wing in salle 938, they will quickly become a new favorite.

Dante's Divine Comedy in Art

Dante’s Divine Comedy would be published in 1472. Dante spent more than 12 years writing the narrative poem and finished it in 1320 less than a year before he would die. Recanting the three levels of afterlife, Inferno (hell), Purgatory and Paradise (heaven) he follows the characters as they navigate their destined ending. Many have been moved by Dante’s piece including many artists. In Paris you can find him in the museums and even on the streets. Around 1307, for two years Dante attended the University of Paris living in the 5th, not far from the street that now holds his name. Walk a few blocks towards the school and in the Place Marcellin Berthelot you will find the bronze statue of him by Jean-Paul Aubé complete with his signature laurel wreath. 

In 1822, Eugene Delacroix completed his first major painting. Dante et Virgile, that now hangs in the Louvre, shows the poet and his trusty guide Virgile on a boat crossing the River Styx while the City of the Dead burns behind them. Dante stands in the boat while Virgile holds him as the waves and the wind are crashing around them. At their feet the damned can be seen fighting for life or resigning to their fate. Pulling the story from the 8 canto of Inferno it would appear at the Salon of 1822 where the French State would buy it and it would hang in the Musée du Luxembourg, later in the Louvre. 

William Bouguereau in 1850 also depicted a scene from the Inferno in one of the most thought provoking paintings in the Orsay. Dante et Virgile captures the moment in the 8th circle of hell that was for the falsifiers and counterfeiters. Dante and Virgil look on while Capocchio, a heretic, attacks Gianni Schiecchi who had taken on the identity of a man in hopes to steal his inheritance. The incredible forceful nature of the scene is intense. You can almost feel his knee in your own back. Get close enough to really take in this amazing painting. The way Bourguereau captures their bodies and muscles is astounding and adds to the dimensions of feelings you get when looking at it. 

One of the best paintings Ary Scheffer ever did could be his Les Ombres de Francesca de Rimini et de Paolo Malatesta Appraissent a Dante a Virgile. From the 2nd level of Hell reserved for the lustful he captures the moment after the death of the two lovers, Francesca and Paolo. Francesca was married to Giovanni Malatesta but fell in love with his brother Paola. Giovanni caught the two together and killed them. In this painting you can see a wound on his chest and her back a reminder of the horrific crime. The two are seen floating as Dante and Virgil look on, it is almost too beautiful looking to be hell. Scheffer’s piece was also displayed at the Salon of 1822, in the same room as Delacroix’s painting which received all the accolades. However today, they both hang in the Louvre for millions of people to appreciate each year. 

Perhaps the most famous piece of art based on Dante’s Divine Comedy would be that of Rodin’s Porte de l’Enfer  and all the pieces that accompany it. You may have recognized the story of Francesca and Paolo as they are the subject of La Baiser. Paolo and Francesca are locked in their embrace holding a copy of Lancelot and Guinevere in his hand. Carved from sparkling white marble it appears to be the perfect image of love, but evil awaits them. Just as they lean in, Giovanni kills them.  

It was to be a part of August Rodin’s monumental work The Gates of Hell, commissioned for the Decorative Arts Museum in 1880. He would work on it for 37 years, until his death and the museum for which it was intended would never be finished. Today a plaster copy sits in the Orsay and a large bronze model at the Musée Rodin.

At the Rodin as you stand and admire his stunning piece filled with the chaos of the moments he so perfectly captured lurking over your shoulder is what Rodin originally called  "the poet". The Thinker was imagined to be Dante himself, holding the characteristics of Adam and Prometheus. He wanted a grand figure reminiscent of Michelangelo and one that would reflect the intelligence of the subject. At first the statue was to be a standing full length Dante, but he changed to the crouching and tense figure we know today. The Gates of Hell based on Dante's Inferno would never fully come to fruition, but the Thinker and the Kiss would go on to become two of the most famous statues in the world.