Géricault’s Star is on the Rise

Géricault is a man of opposites: elusive yet famous, an admirer of Ingres and Raphael and leader of the Romantic school. The myth of the poorly understood artist was based on the painter whose masterpiece, The Raft of the Medusa, exhibited at the 1819 Salon, was rejected outright by critics. Many artists mourned him after his death, when his reputation rose. Delacroix lamented him. Balzac called him "a man of talent". But Géricault never witnessed his own success. Majestic lions, endearing portraits and spirited horses populate his prints and paintings. Here is a selection of works representative of their creator.