The Raft of the Medusa - The Ignored Plight of Refugees
Fiona Green
301279348
March 20, 2019
The Raft of the Medusa by Theadore Gericault is a painting that has inspired many for now over two centuries. The painting depicts a tragedy that was a scandal among the french public and was a criticism of the newly reinstated monarchy.1 This painting is still very relevant to this day, the people that died on the raft were considered the people who weren't worth saving: migrants, slaves and refugees. These people suffered on a raft that was abandoned for 13 days before rescue where only 15 people were left, and they started at roughly 147 people.2 One could say that this tragedy is not much different from the refugee crisis that is happening in our present day. All over the world there are refugees trying to escape from their situation in their country. Syrian refugees are trying to escape a war ridden country and have made many desperate and dangerous attempts in order to make it to a safe place. There are numerous deaths of refugees trying to migrate to new countries with promise of a better life. Although, where are the depictions and the outrage that there was in France almost two centuries ago? Currently there are many more dying by trying to seek refuge. This group of people now seems to go unnoticed. The Raft of the Medusa doesn't show anything different to the treatment and inability to acknowledge the plights of current day refugees.
Many incidents have ended up similar to the Raft of the Medusa because of the reluctance to accept immigrants into certain countries. Canada has a history of events in which immigrants were turned away and left to die on their boat. In 1914 the Komagata Maru, a boat that carried over 300 passengers that were prevented from entering Canada because of the thought that it was a white mans country.3 Canadian officials gave the boat limited supplies while they were left docked and,“sometimes those onboard were forced to go 48 hours without food or water.”4 When it arrived back in India, British authorities thought the boat was full of revolutionaries and opened fire killing 16 passengers, then arresting and jailing another 200.5 This incident is a similar narrative than what is depicted in Gericault’s painting. Refugees were left to their own devices and without aid or help. Also, this incident went without an apology for over 100 years, until Canada accepted its wrongdoing. This incident is similar to Gericault’s work because of the peoples willingness to toss aside those they felt were unworthy of passage into the country. One could speculate that first world countries dehumanize refugees in order to try and not feel as bad for the number of deaths that have occurred and have gone unrecognized.
All over Europe there are immigrants desperately trying to get to new countries, Italy and France being some of them that have received the most. There are thousands of people travelling by any means necessary in order to get to safety. The Raft of the Medusa present day,“could be read as a disturbing reminder of capsized vessels that have spilled hundreds of migrants into the Mediterranean Sea and of the grim reality of the current refugee crisis at large."This continues to be a problem now 200 years after the Raft of the Medusa tragedy happened. It seems that many of the current refugees and immigrants that die seem to go unnoticed and the photos taken like the one shown of a boat being rescued is very impersonal. You cant see the faces or the people, just a boat crammed full of humans. Although, this photo is reminiscent of the raft because of the sheer volume of people crammed onto a boat that cant handle them. The recent development of Brexit is evidence of a government that still is prejudice to the poor immigrant or refugee.
Gericault created a work that glorified poor immigrants and slaves that were left to die on the Raft of the Medusa. This act was one of rebellion which other artists hadn't explored yet and has continued to be an iconic work that speaks to many. Currently the refugee crisis is at an all time hight, with many people trying to escape war ridden or poor countries in hope for a new life. The prejudice in the western world that still is present around refugees and immigrants is reminiscent to the incident in the Raft of the Medusa. Now we have thousands of people dying that go unnoticed by the general public. An event that was such a scandal two centuries ago is now a part of everyday news. This scene depicts something that is very relevant today and that is the castoff of the unwanted migrants and poor. This scene is still happening today and goes under the radar of the more ‘important’ newsworthy stories.
1 Jones, Jonathan. The 200-year-old Painting That Puts Europe's Fear of Migrants to Shame, (The Guardian, 2015)
2 Mendelsohn, Meredith. Why Has Géricault's Raft of the Medusa Inspired So Many Contemporary Artists?,(Artsy, 2015)
3 Johnston, Hugh, Komagata Maru. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. (Historica Canada, 2006)
4 Johnston, Komagata Maru.
5 Ibid
Works Cited
Benjamin, Thomas W. "Images of Refugees, Part 3: Refugees at Sea." Singular Things. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://singularthings.wordpress.com/tag/raft-of-the-medusa/.
Johnston, Hugh, "Komagata Maru". In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published February 07, 2006; last modified September 10, 2018. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/komagata-maru
Jones, Jonathan. "The 200-year-old Painting That Puts Europe's Fear of Migrants to Shame." The Guardian. August 11, 2015. Accessed April 08, 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2015/aug/11/the-200-year-old-painting-that-puts-europes-fear-of-migrants-to-shame.
Mendelsohn, Meredith. "Why Has Géricault's Raft of the Medusa Inspired So Many Contemporary Artists?" Artsy. November 25, 2015. Accessed March 21, 2019. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-why-has-this-painting-inspired-so-many-contemporary-artists.
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