Voilà comment je me sens.

The Raft of Medusa
by: Theodore Géricault











It’s hard for me to explain the way I think. If you were to switch brains with me for a day the one thing you would remember the most would be COLORS. I view people, situations, and moods in many different colors. When I first meet someone, I automatically pair their personality with a color or two. For example I think the best color that expresses my personality is a deep plum purple.

Does any of this make sense?? If not… well, sorry that I confused you.

Last night my boyfriend Cassidy and I were on the phone missing each other like crazy!! Cass got a job with a friend over in Colorado, while I’m still in Utah getting ready to leave for Paris. It's really hard to have a long distance relationship. Cassidy and I have known each other for about a year now, and about 4 months of our dating life has been long distance. When we are together everything is simply amazing. We are always learning and growing. When we are apart, well it’s hard to explain… but it kind of feels like we’re stuck. Anyways… while we were on the phone last night, this painting came into my mind. The color scheme seemed to fit mine and Cassidy’s mood completely. pretty colors right? ha, if you cant tell... we weren't in the happiest mood. The distance has just been really tough.

The Raft of Medusa is a beautiful painting! Its in the Louvre in Paris. The painting has an amazing story that will help you to never forget Géricault's work. The story is about the French ship, Méduse. The ship left France and was headed toward Saint-Louis in Senegal. The ship held nearly 400 people, including the new governor of Senegal and his soldiers. The captain was Hugues Duroy de Chaumereys who had never commanded a ship before. Because the captain really know what he was doing, the ship ran onto a sandbank off the West African coast. They tried to get the ship back to where it needed to be, but in the end everyone was forced to abandon ship. The wealthy and the well connected were given space on the lifeboats. The rest of the people were forced onto a raft which was tied to the back of the lifeboats. At some point, the raft was either intentionally or accidentally cut loose.

The next two weeks were full of stormy seas, insanity and cannibalism. The Raft of Medusa portrays the moment where you see the last 15 men see a ship approaching from the distance. You see the people who were using the rest of their energy to flag down the ship. You also see the poor people who have given up hope. What I heard in one of my Art classes was that the governor, soldiers, captain of the ship, and the wealthy were to keep this a big secret. Once the survivors were found Géricault heard about the event and two years later he revealed this huge painting titled The Raft of Medusa.

Crazy story isn't it? I hope now that you know the story behind The Raft of Medusa, and once you visit the Louvre yourself the painting will standout to you. To wrap things up, I still miss Cassidy like crazy. I cant wait until I can be with him forever. As of now i'm about to leave for Paris, where the Louvre will be my classroom!

Au Revoir!