Théodore Géricault, Raft of the Medusa, 1818-1819. Oil on canvas, 16′ 1″ ´ 23′ 6″. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Eugène Delacroix, Death of Sardanapalus, 1827. Oil on canvas, 12′ 1 1/2″ ´ 16′ 2 7/8″. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Write a response, 5-8 sentences, about the similarities within the concept and style of the two artworks.

TOPIC: Classified in the style of Romanticism, these paintings appeal to the emotions. The artists did not present the themes that were prevalent in the previous Neo-Classical style, such as self-sacrifice and heroism. Explain how these depict anti-heroic statements about corruption. Painting the stories related to human suffering due to an incompetent captain, and a king who appears “supremely indifferent”, how did this relate to socio-political events of that time in France? What was meant, at the end of the first video, when it was said, “We are all on the Raft of the Medusa”?