G�ricault, (Jean Louis Andr�) Th�odore 1791-1824
French painter

Born in Rouen, he became a pupil (1810) of Pierre Gu�rin, in whose studio he met and befriended Eug�ne Delacroix. A great admirer of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish schools, G�ricault revolted against the current classicism, and his unorthodox approach and bold use of colour incurred the disapproval of his teacher, who advised him to give up painting. His first important exhibition piece was Officer of Light Horse at the Salon of 1812, which was followed by other canvases noteworthy for their realism. In his quest for authenticity he spent much time studying the raw material of his pictures, thus achieving the great effectiveness of his masterpiece The Raft of the Medusa (1818-19, Louvre, Paris), based on a shipwreck which had shortly before caused a sensation in France. It impressed Delacroix but was harshly criticized and G�ricault withdrew to England, where he did a number of paintings of racing scenes and landscapes and came to admire Constable and Richard Bonington, whose work he brought to the notice of the French. Towards the end of his life he made five portraits of the insane (1822-23).

Bibliography: L Eitner and S A Nash, Theodore G�ricault (1989)