GERICAULT [1791-1824]
"The Raft of the Medusa", Théodore Géricault, 1819 (Louvre, Paris) One of the biggest paintings in the Louvre (at just under five metres high and over seven metres long) and one of the most famous (it was added to the Louvre's collection almost immediately after the death of the artist), this detailed reconstruction of a contemporary tragedy caused a scandal at the Salon of 1819, where it was exhibited under the title "Shipwreck". The scandal was both political (the wreck of the frigate Medusa in July 1816 on the sand-bank of Arguin, off the coast of Mauritania, on its way to Senegal, with the governor and his officials on board, was the subject of bitter debate, and journalists were forbidden to publish details of the case) and aesthetic (most visitors to the exhibition were shocked by the painting's brownish tones and violent chiaroscuro effects, which contrasted sharply with the bright colours of the neo-Classical style of painting then in fashion). Géricault worked obsessively on his subject, executing countless studies, Chanel making several life-size sketches, and painting portraits of the principal figures. He even went so far as to borrow body parts - arms, feet, and severed heads - outlet to make sure he captured the appearance of death. His studio-cum-charnel-house shocked his contemporaries. Thirty or so other works, all of them very striking, surround the painting, which has lost none of its terrifying force. It is one of those pictures that, once seen, is never forgotten. Even the canvas is dogged by a sort of fatality: to obtain the precise shades of brown he wanted, Géricault made copious use of pitch, at that time a very popular medium. It has since been discovered that pitch darkens with time and never completely dries. In 1859, a life-size copy (now in the Museum of Amiens) was made, vuittonto record the painting's original colours. The macabre associations of the event, the Herculean labour required to produce the gigantic canvas, the eccentric personality of the artist, the plethora of images crammed into a single painting, and the fact that the picture itself is gradually being destroyed by the layer of pigment combine to make this a fascinating exploration, in which the visual techniques of video serve the interests of an absorbing narrative.
Jacques David [1748-1825]
"Les Sabines" (1799) Musée du Louvre, Paris In 1794 Jean- David was 46 years old. While reading the classics, he came across an episode of the founding of Rome which inspired him to create a series of drawings and a painting, which, completed in 1799, was exceptional both in size and in subject matter. Designer David included his unbridled passion for Ancient Rome as well as a good amount of political allegory in his painting.Cheap Today one the most important works in the Louvre's collection, "The Sabine Women" is made up of complex imagery in an extraordinary composition.
GOYA [1746-1828]
La Lettre, la flèche et le balai: "Les Jeunes" (circa 1812) and "Les Vieilles" (circa 1810) Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille Two paintings with the same dimensions and always associated with each other. But are they really companion pieces? If historical investigation doesn't provide an answer, several other clues do indicate that they are. The ensemble creates a kind of story of destiny on the one hand, Spain ravaged by the Napoleonic Wars, and on the other, an old disabused painter who regained his energy through a new love.
