Early years: Born in the pleasant middle-class enclave of Rouen, France, to affluent parents, Gericault’s artistic inclinations were fed from a very young age. In 1808 he began his first apprenticeship with Carle Vernet, a Neoclassical painter who shared young Theodore’s fascination with horses. Gericault was interested in a style of painting that was less rigid and contrived than the Neoclassical works he was taught to emulate, and to this end he utilized a new set of preparatory practices. Gericault then turned worked in another studio, that of Pierre-Narcisse Guerin, where he met another young fiery Frenchman, Eugene Delacroix. The two would forge a lasting friendship and mutual admiration, going on to found the artistic movement known as Romanticism.
Middle years: After a stint fighting for Napoleon as a French Musketeer, Gericault became involved in politics which led to the creation of what is considered his Romantic masterpiece, The Raft of the Medusa, in 1818.This painting depicts a tragic event in French History - the shipwreck of the French vessel "Medusa" in 1816 and with this piece the artist polarized the critics and established himself as a young face to watch. On the strength of this painting and his other lithographs, Gericault toured around England from 1820-1822, gaining widespread fame and fortune.
Later years: Upon his return to France, the artist executed a well-received series of ten paintings depicting various types of insanity. He travelled to the Paris asylum of Salpetriere, and painted movingly accurate portraits of the inmates. Theodore Gericault died at the young age of 32 from a riding accident and tuberculosis, in the prime of his career. He left a legacy, however, that would influence fellow Romantics as well as artists for centuries to come.