The Medusa Now

Where does the Shipwreck of the Medusa show up now and why is it still relevant today?

Raft of the Medusa: a grisly tale of incompetence and cannibalism
People viewing and taking pictures of “The Raft of the Medusa” by Theodore Gericult in the Louvre1

The painting of the Raft of Medusa by Theodore Gericault currently lives in the Louvre museum in Paris, France which millions of people visit each year2. The painting is 17 ft by 23 ft and is hung in one of the main galleries in the museum3.

The Louvre after dark — Oxfordshire Mind
Image of the Louvre at night4
Explaining the Raft of The Medusa, Géricault's Masterpiece | TheCollector
“Raft of the Medusa” in Salon Carré of the Louvre in 1831, Nicolas-Sebastien Maillot, 1831. Source: British Art Studies5

The Medusa was not just another ship that went down; it became a tragic symbol of political corruption, incompetent leadership, and the fragility of human civilization when put under intense circumstances. Modern historians and human scientists look to the Medusa shipwreck and tragedy as an example of how quickly people can turn on each other when scared for their own lives. Some psychologists examine to what extent people turn to cannibalism in difficult situations, and the Medusa tragedy provides a detailed example of how quickly people resort to cannibalism in order to survive. 

Recently, the shipwreck has been brought back to the public’s attention as a metaphor for the modern refugee crisis in the Mediterranean. Shortly after the people on the Medusa began to retreat from the wreck on lifeboats and a makeshift raft, the ropes connecting the raft to the lifeboats were cut, leaving low-ranking crew members abandoned on the ocean. Today, people use this story to comment on and connect to migrants and refugees being abandoned in the ocean by their higher ranked counterparts6. In 2015, street artist and political activist, Banksy copied an image of the painting of the raft of the Medusa on a wall in Calais to allude to a group of refugees who were abandoned in their journey to Britain. Multiple other artists have created versions of Gerecault’s painting.

Below – Other Renditions of the Medusa
the raft of the medusa wreck engraving
An English engraving of the Wreck of the Medusa Frigate, c. 1816-1820. Source: Meister Drucke
lecomte fight engraving
interpretation of survivors on the Raft of the Medusa, by Charles Philibert de Lasteyrie after Hippolyte Lecomte, 1818. Source: Art Institute of Chicago
The Raft of the Medusa - The World of Banksy
Banksy’s street art rendition of the Raft of Medusa, 20157

“Today when newspapers carry daily reports of migrants drowning in capsized vessels, Gericault’s achievement, The Raft of the Medusa (1819), is the perfect metaphor for human refuse pushed aside and ignored by the state.”

Author, Lisa Mullenneaux
Where does Medusa show up today?

On December 5, 2019, a ship of migrants from the Gambia capsized off the coast of Mauritania: near the spot where the Medusa wrecked. The ship held about 150 people including women and children, and it was headed towards Europe. About 58 people drowned and 83 swam to shore8.

Today, the story of the Medusa shows up in media like podcasts, literature, TikToks, YouTube videos, and film. The painting itself influences modern art, and the story continuously reminds people of the brutal reality of European colonialism in Africa. Below is a list of different artists and their creative interpretations of the Raft of the Medusa.
  • Gail Reid’s portrait of womenkind, 20259
  • Peter Saul’s “Last Moments on the Raft of the Medusa”, 201510
  • Frank Stella’s “Raft of Medusa, Part I”, 1990
  • Jeff Koons, “Gazing Ball”, 2014
Gail Reid’s portrait of womenkind, 20259
Peter Saul’s “Last Moments on the Raft of the Medusa”, 201510
Frank Stella’s “Raft of Medusa, Part I”, 1990
Jeff Koons, “Gazing Ball”, 2014
Who is interested in the Medusa now?

The painting and the story of the Medusa is still relevant today because people are still interested in it today. People have made music and art based off of the story, and people go to the Louvre to see Gerecualt’s painting. Art is and important medium for historians to understand historical events such as the shipwreck of the Medusa to depict the unimaginable circumstances which people faced.

Spotify Playlist with songs about The Medusa, made by Liv Wilson
  1. Alexandre, Matthieu ↩︎
  2. Marion Benaiteau, “8.9 Million Visitors to the Musée Du Louvre in 2023,” Espace presse du musée du Louvre, February 2, 2024, https://presse.louvre.fr/8-9-million-visitors-to-the-louvre-in-2023/. ↩︎
  3. Nina Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, “An American Copy of Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa?,” Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide 6, no. 1 (2025), https://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/spring07/new-discoveries-an-american-copy-of-gericaults-raft-of-the-medusa. ↩︎
  4. Communications OxfordshireMind, “The Louvre after Dark — Oxfordshire Mind,” Oxfordshire Mind, June 18, 2020, https://www.oxfordshiremind.org.uk/the-louvre-after-dark/. ↩︎
  5. Anastasiia Kirpalov, “Explaining the Raft of the Medusa, Géricault’s Masterpiece | TheCollector,” TheCollector, 2025, https://www.thecollector.com/raft-medusa-explaining-gericault-masterpiece/. ↩︎
  6. Lisa Mullenneaux, “The Raft of the Medusa | Common Dreams,” Common Dreams, September 8, 2020, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/09/08/raft-medusa. ↩︎
  7. The World of Banksy, “The Raft of the Medusa – the World of Banksy,” The World of Banksy, January 8, 2026, https://theworldofbanksy.de/multimediaguide/en/portfolios/the-raft-of-the-medusa/. ↩︎
  8. PBS News, “Dozens of Migrants Drown off Coast of Mauritania,” PBS News, December 5, 2019, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/dozens-of-migrants-drown-off-coast-of-mauritania. ↩︎
  9. GAIL REID, “GAIL REID ARTIST,” GAIL REID ARTIST, 2019, https://www.gailreidartist.com/people-portfolio/raft-of-the-medusa. ↩︎
  10. Meredith Mendelsohn, “Why Has Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa Inspired so Many Contemporary Artists?,” Artsy, November 25, 2015, https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-why-has-this-painting-inspired-so-many-contemporary-artists. ↩︎
  11. GAIL REID, “GAIL REID ARTIST,” GAIL REID ARTIST, 2019, https://www.gailreidartist.com/people-portfolio/raft-of-the-medusa. ↩︎
  12. Meredith Mendelsohn, “Why Has Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa Inspired so Many Contemporary Artists?,” Artsy, November 25, 2015, https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-why-has-this-painting-inspired-so-many-contemporary-artists. ↩︎
downloadDownload