Where can you see Théodore Géricault in Paris?

At the Louvre Museum: The Raft of the Medusa and The Charging Chasseur. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Théodore Géricault's most famous work in Paris?

The Raft of the Medusa, of 1818 to 1819, at the Louvre Museum. The survivors sight a ship on the horizon, a pyramid of bodies rising from the dead to a man waving a cloth. Nearly five metres high and more than seven wide. The young Delacroix posed for one of the figures. It hangs in the red rooms of the Denon wing.

When and where was Théodore Géricault born?

On 26 September 1791, at Rouen, France. Théodore Géricault died on 26 January 1824, at Paris, France, aged about 33.

What is Théodore Géricault known for?

Painted The Raft of the Medusa at twenty-seven. A pioneer of Romanticism, and a friend of the young Delacroix. Died at thirty-two after a riding accident. Théodore Géricault was a French painter, of Romanticism.

Painter, 1791 to 1824

Théodore Géricault

Géricault interviewed survivors, studied corpses in a hospital morgue and built a model of the raft in his studio. Then he painted it, seven metres wide.

The Raft of the Medusa, by Géricault: survivors on a raft, one waving a cloth at a distant ship. — Théodore Géricault, Public domain

The Charging Chasseur, by Géricault: a cavalry officer turning in the saddle of a rearing horse. — Théodore Géricault, Public domain

A portrait of Théodore Géricault by Horace Vernet. — Horace Vernet, CC0

Born: 1791, Rouen, France
Died: 1824, Paris, France
Movement: Romanticism
In Paris: 2 works in 1 museum

Where to see Théodore Géricault in Paris

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

Louvre Museum2 works

The Raft of the Medusa
1818 to 1819
The survivors sight a ship on the horizon, a pyramid of bodies rising from the dead to a man waving a cloth. Nearly five metres high and more than seven wide. The young Delacroix posed for one of the figures. It hangs in the red rooms of the Denon wing.
The Charging Chasseur
1812
An officer of Napoleon's cavalry twisting in the saddle of a rearing horse. Géricault painted it at twenty-one.

The life of Théodore Géricault

Géricault was born in Rouen in 1791 into a wealthy family and was largely self-taught, copying Rubens and Michelangelo. He loved horses and painted them all his life. He showed The Charging Chasseur at the Salon when he was twenty-one.

In 1816 the frigate Méduse ran aground off West Africa. Its officers took the boats and left about 150 people on a raft. After thirteen days, fifteen were alive. Géricault spent more than a year on the picture and showed it in 1819. It was the first great painting of Romanticism. He died five years later, after a fall from a horse.

What to know

Painted The Raft of the Medusa at twenty-seven
A pioneer of Romanticism, and a friend of the young Delacroix
Died at thirty-two after a riding accident

Born: 26 September 1791, Rouen, France
Died: 26 January 1824, Paris, France

Théodore Géricault: common questions

Where can you see Théodore Géricault in Paris?: At the Louvre Museum: The Raft of the Medusa and The Charging Chasseur. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Théodore Géricault's most famous work in Paris?: The Raft of the Medusa, of 1818 to 1819, at the Louvre Museum. The survivors sight a ship on the horizon, a pyramid of bodies rising from the dead to a man waving a cloth. Nearly five metres high and more than seven wide. The young Delacroix posed for one of the figures. It hangs in the red rooms of the Denon wing.
When and where was Théodore Géricault born?: On 26 September 1791, at Rouen, France. Théodore Géricault died on 26 January 1824, at Paris, France, aged about 33.
What is Théodore Géricault known for?: Painted The Raft of the Medusa at twenty-seven. A pioneer of Romanticism, and a friend of the young Delacroix. Died at thirty-two after a riding accident. Théodore Géricault was a French painter, of Romanticism.