The Raft of the Medusa
On 5 July 1816, 147 people were set adrift after a ship wreck off the coast of modern Mauritania. 15 people survived the 13 days it took to rescue them. Théodore Géricault captured their struggle in my favourite painting - a larger than life epic portrayal of struggle. There are two sweeping triangles, one reaches up to the tip of the sails, the other to a shirt being waved to signal to a rescue ship in the distance. They build from utter despair at the base upwards towards hope at the top. Bottom left - a head resting despondently on the knee, an arm draped over a friend who has passed. Top right - a symbol of our resilience. Our ability to never give up. To fight on in our darkest moments. A celebration of the human spirit.
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