The Raft of the Medusa a monumental French Romantic painting by Théodore Géricault completed in 1819, depicting the horrifying aftermath of the 1816 shipwreck of the Méduse, when 150 people were abandoned on a makeshift raft and left to starve, murder, and cannibalism before a mere 15 were rescued. The massive oil painting is 16 ft 1 in × 23 ft 6 in.