Raft of the Medusa

Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault is an artwork that is main purpose is to make notice of a tragedy. Like many artworks, this work was also controversial. People were not used to this type of artwork, especially seeing dead bodies and people suffering. The art work represents an event that happened in 1816 when a ship was wrecked because the French government appointed an inexperience captain to lead a journey to Senegal. About 150 people that were appointed to this journey, only 15 people survived. Some people in the ship even started cannibalism. I think the artist wanted to convey the message as effectively as possible. Like the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  This was a tragedy that could have easily been prevented, which made people angrier. Seeing this painting, gives the viewer a perspective of the amount of suffering and agony the people in the ship endured.

A list of some other artworks that use art to represent an event or tragedy:

Francisco Goya, Third of May, 1808

Eugène Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People

Honoré Daumier, Rue Transnonain, Le 15 Avril, 1834 

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Raft_of_the_Medusa

http://www.pogues.com/Misc/Medusa.html

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/gericaults-raft-of-the-medusa1.html