Origins & Early Life

Jean-Louis André Théodore Géricault (French: [ʒɑ̃lwi ɑ̃dʁe teɔdɔʁ ʒeʁiko]; 26 September 1791 – 26 January 1824) was a French painter and lithographer. His best-known painting is The Raft of the Medusa. Despite his short life, he was one of the pioneers of the Romantic movement. Born in Rouen, France, Géricault moved to Paris with his family, probably in 1797, where Théodore's father, a lawyer, worked in the family tobacco business based at the Hôtel de Longueville on the Place du Carrousel.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Géricault's artistic abilities were likely first recognized by the painter and art dealer Jean-Louis Laneuville. Laneuville lived at the Hotel de Longueville alongside Jean-Baptiste Caruel, Théodore Géricault's maternal uncle, and other members of the extended Géricault family. In 1797, Théodore Géricault's Saint Domingue relation Louis Robillard de Peronville arrived in Paris with his family, having fled war and revolution in France's Caribbean colony. In 1802, with France once more at peace, Robillard de Peronville and Pierre Laurent, an engraver, founded the Entreprise De La Gravure De La Galerie du Musée Central des Arts à Paris - a...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Carl Czerny — Contemporary (Born in 1791) (1791): Austrian composer and pianist, renowned for his pedagogical works and connection to Beethoven and Liszt.
• Charles Babbage — Contemporary (Born in 1791) (1791): Pioneering polymath credited with originating the concept of the digital programmable computer.
• Dutty Boukman — Contemporary (Died in 1791) (1791): Key leader in the Haitian Revolution, formerly enslaved from Senegambia.
• Anton Bruckner — Contemporary (Born in 1824) (1824): Master of Austro-German Romanticism, renowned for monumental symphonies and sacred works.
• Dayananda Saraswati — Contemporary (Born in 1824) (1824): Pioneering Hindu reformer and founder of the Arya Samaj, championing Vedic revival.
• Gustav Kirchhoff — Contemporary (Born in 1824) (1824): Pioneering physicist known for circuit laws, spectroscopy, and black-body radiation.
• Béla Bartók — Shared historical date (09-26 · Died) (1945): Pioneering Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist of the 20th century.
• Bessie Smith — Shared historical date (09-26 · Died) (1937): The "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith dominated the sound of the 1930s.
• Akio Morita — Shared historical date (01-26 · Born) (1921): Visionary Japanese entrepreneur and co-founder of Sony.
• Arthur Cayley — Shared historical date (01-26 · Died) (1895): Pioneering English mathematician, instrumental in founding modern algebra and group theory.
• 1791 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1791
• September 26 (09-26) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on September 26
• 1824 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1824
• January 26 (01-26) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on January 26