How did Caravaggio paint Medusa?
Backstory: The painting is actually a self-portrait of Caravaggio. When he painted Medusa on a convex shield, he used a convex mirror to paint his own face. If you look carefully, you may notice that the forehead and cheeks of Medusa are somewhat bigger than expected.
What is the message of The raft of Medusa?
The Raft of the Medusa depicts a dramatic moment and all emotions human beings can feel in such a situation: fear, pain, hope, madness. To do this painting Géricault studied for a long time the effects of the refraction of light on human body, and for this reason he drew a lot of preparatory sketches.
Who painted the head of Medusa?
Peter Paul Rubens
Medusa/Artists
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Flemish. The Head of Medusa, circa 1618. Oil on canvas, 68.5 × 118 cm. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria.
What was the reason why Theodore Gericault painted The raft of Medusa?
Géricault chose to depict this event in order to launch his career with a large-scale uncommissioned work on a subject that had already generated great public interest. The event fascinated him, and before he began work on the final painting, he undertook extensive research and produced many preparatory sketches.
Is Medusa a renaissance?
After the ancient philosophy and mythology became revived during the Renaissance period, this particular motif gained back its glory, meaning that a number of artists explored the Medusa myth all the way up to the early 19th century and the arrival of Neoclassicism.
Where is Medusa’s head today?
The severed head, which had the power of turning into stone all who looked upon it, was given to Athena, who placed it in her shield; according to another account, Perseus buried it in the marketplace of Argos.
Who commissioned Medusa Caravaggio?
Caravaggio painted two versions of Medusa and the Grand Duke of Tuscany commissioned this one as a gift for the Medici family. The family had an affinity towards this image for they felt it reflected their military power.
Who is the black man in The Raft of the Medusa?
The tired man at the painting’s center was one of them, a man named Alexandre Correard, a 28-year-old geographer and engineer and one of the 392 passengers who boarded the ship Medusa on June 17, 1816. With him on the raft was a 23-year-old officer, Jean Baptiste Henri Savigny, a surgeon.
When did Caravaggio paint Medusa?
Caravaggio’s Medusa exists in two versions, the first was created in 1596 and the other presumably in 1597. The first version (1596) is also known as Murtula, after poet Gaspare Murtola (d. 1624), who wrote of it: “Flee, for if your eyes are petrified in amazement, she will turn you to stone.”
What is the origin of the head of Medusa painting?
The “Head of Medusa” executed by Caravaggio, in 1598, was commissioned as a cerimonial shield by Cardinal Francesco Maria Del Monte, the Medici family’s agent in Rome, after seeing, on the painters studio, the first version – The Metula painting.
What is the story behind the raft of the Medusa?
The Raft of the Medusa painting was created in 1818-1819, near the beginning of the Romanticism art movement. It’s a contemporary piece because it was created within two years of an event that took place in 1816. But it’s also a history piece, as it shows a historical moment. Here’s the incredible story. . .
Was Michelangelo Caravaggio a realist artist?
Artist: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) was known in late 16th-century Rome for the naturalism and lifelike freshness of his painting. The compelling reality of Caravaggio’s painting, however, does not make him a “realist”.