Study of a Model Gm-00089801

Théodore Géricault (French, 1791–1824) This portrait was made as a study for Théodore Géricault's most famous painting, The Raft of the Medusa, made in 1819 and now in the Louvre. In a clear case of ineptitude, the ship named Medusa foundered in the sea off the coast of Africa in 1816. A raft with 140 passengers drifted for thirteen days before being rescued; only fifteen people survived. In preparation for his disturbing and controversial painting of the incident, Géricault made many studies from life, like this one, to achieve a sense of realism and specificity.

The sitter wears a shirt similar to those worn by the survivors of the Medusa. Géricault captured the man's character with great sympathy and spontaneity; his watery eyes do not focus on anything outside the canvas but appear to express an internal torment. Shades of brown, gray, and beige blend together to imitate his dark complexion. Dabs of white and beige paint are used to indicate reflective light in his eyes and on the tip of his nose, his bottom lip, and his chin.

We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.

Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.