Jean Louis Théodore Géricault

French painter. Although he died young, he showed outstanding talent, and is especially known for "The Raft of the Medusa," which became a beacon of Romantic painting. Born in Rouen. He studied under Carl Vernet and then under Guerin (where Delacroix also studied). While he followed the canons of classicism in the style of David, his passion for horses, which he had developed since his childhood, drove him to observe movement precisely, and he also learned a lot from the techniques of Titian and Rubens, thanks to the collection of the Borghese Palace in Rome at the time. The results of this work were his debut work at the Salon in 1812, "A Hussar Officer" (Louvre Museum), which won the gold medal. From 1816 to 1817, he traveled to Rome and Florence to study. He studied Michelangelo and the Baroque style, as well as Raphael. After returning to Japan, he sought to give Baroque and Romantic passion and grandeur to contemporary subjects rather than literary themes, and the result was his work The Raft of the Medusa, which he exhibited at the Salon in 1919. He created an epoch with his depiction of the real tragedy of his time, diagonal composition, contrast of light and dark, and realism backed up by the numerous sketches of corpses he had attempted in hospitals. He stayed in London from 1920 to 1921. He died in Paris after falling off a horse.

[Kimio Nakayama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの画家。夭折(ようせつ)ではあったが傑出した才能を示し、とくにロマン派絵画の烽火(ほうか)となった『メデューズ号の筏(いかだ)』で名高い。ルーアンに生まれる。カルル・ベルネ、ついでゲランの画室（ここにドラクロワも学んだ）に学ぶ。ダビッド風の古典主義の規範の一方で、少年期より馬に傾けた彼の熱情は、動きへの正確な観察へと彼を駆り立て、また当時ローマのボルゲーゼ宮からもたらされた所蔵品などによって、ティツィアーノやルーベンスの描法にも多くを学んでいる。その成果は、1812年のサロンへのデビュー作『軽騎兵士官』（ルーブル美術館）となって現れ、金賞を得る。16～17年、ローマ、フィレンツェに遊学。ミケランジェロやバロック様式を学び、また他方でラファエッロをも学ぶ。帰国後は、文学的主題ではなく同時代の主題にバロック的、ロマン派的な情熱と大きさを与えることを求め、その成果が19年のサロンへの『メデューズ号の筏』出品となる。彼は同時代の現実の悲劇、対角線構図、明暗の対照、病院で数多く試みた死体の素描に裏づけられた現実性などにより、一つのエポックをつくった。20～21年ロンドンに滞在。落馬事故でパリに没した。

［中山公男］

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