This is a 3-part presentation related to the shipwreck of the French frigate Medusa (La Meduse) on the Arguin Bank (West Afrtica) in 1816.

Part 1 - The story of the shipwreck, including the historical background, what transpired on the journey, and the aftermath.
Part 2 - The story of the artist Theodore Gericault and how he came to paint his masterpiece, which now hangs in the Louvre.
Part 3 - The story of the 1980 expedition to locate the wreck site off the coast of modern-day Mauritania.

In July 1816 the French frigate Medusa ran aground on the treacherous Arguin Bank off the west coast of Africa. The events that followed earned the ship a prominent place in the annals of infamous sea disasters. In a botched attempt to reach shore 150 men and women were abandoned on a makeshift raft. When the raft was found by chance two weeks later only 15 remained alive, the others having fallen victim to the sea, mutiny, starvation and cannibalism. The shipwreck and all that followed were the result of incompetent leadership and when the tale reached France it caused a major political scandal. The story captured the imagination of the young artist Theodore Géricault, inspiring him to use it as the subject of a grand painting for the Paris Salon of 1819. Géricault’s Scene of a Shipwreck (now known as Raft of the Medusa) was a sensation and proved to be a pivotal work in art history. It survives today as one of the treasures of the Louvre, yet many people are unaware that it was based on an historical event. In 1980 a French marine archaeological expedition sailed to the still-uncharted waters of the Arguin Bank, located the shipwreck site and recovered artifacts for museum display.

Charles Mazel, PhD, was the expedition’s Technical Director.

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