Theodore Géricault: Standing on the Giants’ Shoulder
西奥多·杰利柯(Théodore Géricault)(1791–1824)浪漫主义画派的先驱。他与德拉克洛瓦一同师从雅克-路易·大卫，19岁时到卢浮宫仔细临摹并研究提香、伦勃朗、委拉斯开兹等大师的画作，最终发展出了属于自己的艺术风格。
Theodore Géricault (1791–1824) Pioneer of the Romantic School. Together with Delacroix, he studied under Jacques-Louis David. When he was 19 he went to the Louvre to carefully copy and study Titian, Rembrandt, Velázquez, and other masters’ paintings, eventually developed their own artistic style.
这幅作品描绘了1816年法国海军巡防舰美杜莎号沉没之后，幸存者乘坐木筏绝望求生的场景。海难发生时，约有147人生还，他们乘坐自制木筏逃离。但在漂流期间，由于环境恶劣，缺少食物和水，13日后仅有15位幸存者被救起。美杜莎号船长的失职是引起这场海难的主要原因，这一事件一度成为国际丑闻，引起轩然大波。
This work depicts the scene of survivors riding a raft in despair after the sinking of the French naval frigate Medusa in 1816. About 147 people survived when the shipwreck occurred, and they fled on a homemade raft. However, during the rafting period, due to the harsh environment and lack of food and water, only 15 survivors were rescued after 13 days. The dereliction of the Captain of the Medusa was the main cause of the shipwreck. This incident once became an international scandal and caused an uproar.
杰利柯在画面结构上选择了“双三角”结构。左侧的蓝色三角以风帆和桅杆为顶，几具尸体和坐在木筏上奄奄一息的人为底，绝望的幸存者将手伸向一个站在木桶上呼救的黑人，也就是右侧红色三角形的顶端。在此结构之下，观众的视线集中到黑人的身上，画面情绪也在此刻达到顶峰。
Géricault chose the “double triangle” structure in the screen structure. The blue triangle on the left is topped by sails and masts, and a few dead bodies and dying people sitting on a raft are the bottoms. The desperate survivor stretches out his hand to a black man standing on a wooden barrel calling for help, which is the red triangle on the right. The top. Under this structure, the audience’s attention is focused on the black person, and the mood of the picture is at its peak at this moment.
此外，杰利柯在颜色的选择上也十分大胆，他以深灰色为主色调，描绘了惨白的尸体，黝黑干瘦的活人，阴暗的天空，泛绿的海水。
Also, Géricault is very bold in his choice of color. He uses dark gray as the main color, depicting pale corpses, dark and thin living people, dark sky, and greenish water.
杰利柯的老师雅克-路易·大卫创作了《马拉之死》后，杰利柯受到启发，选择以海难作为创作主题，顺应国际潮流，谴责船长以及任命船长的路易十八，同时也是为了引起舆论关注，发展自己的事业。杰利柯对海难进行了大量调查，采访幸存者、制作木筏模型、前往太平间临摹尸体，最终呈现出这幅逼真、绝望，充满感染力的画作。
After Géricault’s teacher Jacques-Louis David’s painted “La Mort de Marat”, Géricault was inspired to choose the shipwreck as the creative theme, conform to the international trend, condemned the captain and appointed the captain Louis XVIII also aimed to attract public attention and develop his own business. Géricault conducted a lot of investigations on the shipwreck, interviewing survivors, making raft models, and going to the morgue to copy the corpse, finally presenting this lifelike, desperate and infectious painting.
这幅《美杜莎之筏》也为德拉克洛瓦创作《自由领导人民》提供了灵感，成为了浪漫主义流派先锋式的作品。
This “The Raft of the Medusa” also provided inspiration for Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People” and became a pioneering work in the romantic genre.
