Romanticism: Contemporary Connections-ART 11

Theodore Gericault and Romanticism: Contemporary Connections

Géricault’s famous painting The Raft of the Medusa (1818-1819) depicted the aftermath of a tragic 19th-century shipwreck, criticizing the French monarchy’s indifference and incompetence. Almost two centuries later, the street artist Banksy recreated the iconic scene of desperate survivors signaling for rescue as a stenciled mural (2015). By connecting the historical disaster and the contemporary refugee crisis, Banksy highlighted the ongoing failure of the developed world to respond to migrants’ dire needs (Samuel, 2017). Both works compellingly illuminate human suffering and institutional failure across the ages through their shared intertextuality.

Géricault created a dramatic, large-scale painting documenting the wreck of the French naval frigate Medusa in 1816. His work exposed the scandal of inept leadership, shocking French society (Gericault, Raft of the Medusa, 2017). Banksy’s mural replaces the raft with struggling migrants packed on flimsy boats, waving frantically toward an oblivious luxury liner sailing by. This juxtaposition provocatively argues that despite 180 years of social progress, those with resources and power still neglect humanitarian crises impacting the disadvantaged. Both works appropriate art history to sharpen their social critique – Géricault referenced earlier shipwreck paintings and revolutionary art, while Banksy satirized Gericault’s masterpiece. 

Contemporary artists often revisit and reinterpret classic works of art to infuse their own works with deeper meaning. Kehinde Wiley subverts traditional portraiture in Napoleon Leading the Army Over the Alps (2005). He recreated Jacques-Louis David’s early 19th-century equestrian portrait of Napoleon but replaced the French emperor with an anonymous contemporary African-American male wearing hip-hop fashion. The lavish embellishments satirize male bravado in art history. By blending urban style with neoclassical grandeur, Wiley’s painting contrasts dominant and marginalized representations of power, compelling viewers to reconsider racial exclusion and privilege (Farago, 2020). Just as Banksy links Gericault’s survivors to current refugees, Wiley connects Napoleon to young Black men impacted by violence and oppression today. This conceptual pairing across 200 years speaks profoundly to enduring social injustice and the vital relevance of art history.

Left: Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps  Left: Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps  

Reference

Farago, J. (2020). Two Napoleons in Brooklyn, one in Timberlands. New York Times.

Gericault, Raft of the Medusa. (2017). Uploaded by Smarthistory. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlVBaqyGKMs

Samuel, B. H. (2017). Banksy mural in Calais painted over because wall’s owner found it too ‘shabby’ The Telegraph. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/11/banksy-mural-calais-painted-walls-owner-found-shabby/