Wreck of the Medusa

In The Wreck of the Medusa, Jonathan Miles deftly interweaves the story of the ill-fated shipwreck, its survivors, and the life of Theodore Gericault who rendered the famous painting of the ship's raft.

The story of the raft's unfortunate fate is the most sensational aspect of the shipwreck as it combines the injustice of the captain abandoning hundreds, mutiny, and cannibalism. But Miles resists the temptation to descend to lurid descriptions of the horrors. Nor does he shortchange the sufferings of those in lifeboats who had to trek through the unyielding desert. Instead Miles' descriptions are evocative with many sections drawn directly from first-person accounts.

The author lends depth to the reader's understanding of Gericault's show more painting by describing the painter's artistic development, the influence of his personal life, of survivor Alexandre Correard, and the implications of Gericault's political leanings - particularly concerning the abolition movement.

While certainly engrossing, Miles' account of the shipwreck is a confusion of names. It was difficult at times to tell who was on what craft, who landed where, and in what circumstances. Given the importance the raft would later take, that section also seemed a bit brief. Furthermore, a few incidents were included that seemed to have little to do with the overall point of the work (the Fualdes incident). The placement of the plate of the famous painting renders it useless as the main focus of the canvas (and many of the details the author analyzes) are hidden in the fold of the pages. Luckily the painting is easily found online.

Aside from these few quibbles, Miles has written an informative and thorough book examining the causes and the influences (artistic and political) of the famous wreck of the Medusa. Well worth reading. show less

Anyone who has studied art history is probably already familiar with Gericault's famous painting of the Medusa. I was first introduced to the painting in high school and while I remembered that it was inspired by a true and politically important incident, I didn't really know much beyond that. This book explains the event in great detail, but in a way that is very readable and not at all tedious. It also provides an overview of Gericault's life, his experience of creating the painting and public reactions to it. So really, you get a lot out of this book: naval history, 19th century French political history, art history and it has enough depictions of humanity at its worst that one might even classify it as having "true crime" elements. show more Highly recommended. show less

4425. The Wreck of the Medusa The Most Famous Sea Disaster of the Nineteenth Century, by Jonathan Miles (read 2 Apr 2008) This is not only a well-researched account of the wreck of the French ship Medusa off the coast of Africa on July 2,1816, but also an account of the political life of France in the time of King Louis XVIII and a study of the life pf the great Romantic painter Theodore Gericault and of his famous painting The Wreck of the Medusa. The research evidenced is vast and the events of July 1816 are told in all their horror.

This was not just one book. This is several books. Most of them are about post revolutionary France or a bio of an artist. The book about the wreck is only about the first five chapters.

really liked it-just wish more was known found it somewhat difficult to keep track of the different castaways

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