Géricault was obsessed with death. Many artists will look for stories to illustrate that the people of their time will understand and connect with on some level. Artists look for a hook to reflect the society and immortalize an event. The Raft of the Medusa was a story that caught the attention of many people at this time. It was similar to more modern stories of disaster at sea. In this actual event, the French frigate the Medusa was off the coast of Senegal on a military expedition, when it ran ashore in 1816. The ship was sinking but it did not have enough lifeboats. In the panic, the officers managed to take all of the lifeboats, leaving the 150 crew members to fend for themselves on the sinking Medusa. The crew tied a pile of debris together to make a raft. The raft was being pulled by one of the officer boats, but the officers soon realized that the crew was slowing them down and feared the crew would pull themselves up and take over their boat. So the officers cut the raft free. The over flowing raft with its 150 sailors had many problems. The men were on the sea without food, but had a large supply of wine, leading to increased violence and would eventually lead to cannibalism. The crew also suffered from the heat, dehydrating, and death all around them. After twelve days at sea, the crew had fifteen living members. We see this small group as they spot another boat in their expedition, the Argus, off on the horizon that would eventually rescue them. Very dramatic. He built the drama by using great compositional design and studying for the perfect look to these figures. He wanted to be true to the story.

Géricault's preparation for this work took weeks. He interviewed the survivors of the wreck. He researched at the hospitals and morgues of Paris too get the look of newly dead flesh. He made so many drawings for the dead that it was said that his studio began to look like a morgue. He made models of rafts to experiment with the look of it. We also see his political view come out, with the black man saving the crew by waving down the ship. He was a big supporter of equality between the races. He wanted this work to be absolutely huge, and it was. It was so large he knew no private buyer would ever buy it. What do you do with a painting no one would ever buy? Well, he needed to sell it to either the state or a museum. Great idea, however, no one wanted it. Maybe a buyer would be found if the work was more known? Once completed, Géricault put this work before the 1819 Salon judges and was allowed into the show. It was the first time a display of fear and the Romantic made its way into the Salon. Although it was disapproved by the public and the French government, this was a glimpse at what would be the next big thing in the art world. After the show, he took it home and kept it in his studio. After he died it was going to be destroyed by his family, but his friends stepped in and protected the work. One of his friends bought it and arranged for it to be placed in the Louvre.