In painting, the romantic breath was firstly hidden in the classical themes of the Girodet (1767-1824), namely in the "Atala Cemetery" (1808) inspired by the fantastic, irrational, beautiful, revered de Chateaubriand writer, and absurd. This painting is romantic because: (1) dealing with the feelings of a person, (2) everything exotic, longing for a distant place there, a long time ago and a strange atmosphere, (3) everything is used to provoke feelings from his audience, including the fall of light and the dramatic placement of his characters, the beauty of the dead girl is full of pathos, and the young man looks extraordinarily sad.
However, the new romanticism was really declared by Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) with his "Rakit Medusa" (1818). This figure from the beginning did look very prominent; at the age of 21 years (1812) he had put his paintings in the salon, which meant he was a disciple of David (or opposition to the neoclassical school was generally a former student of David and all from the academy)
The Medusa Raft painting was inspired by the sinking scandal of the transport ship "Medusa" (1816) which sank near the west coast of Africa and was abandoned by officers using a lifeboat, while more than one hundred passengers were finally found, live 15 people are still alive. This gave rise to Gericault's desire to paint it and soon began the collection of material for it in depth because it was motivated by his desire to portray it as realistic as possible. So realistic was his idea that he made a reconstruction of the raft with the help of one surviving survivor, even the body borrowed him from the hospital and placed on the raft as a model.
This painting entered the salon in 1819 and it turned out to be a sensation, but not because it is beautiful (even if the painting is beautiful), but because of its actuality. Never before had the French public been treated to such an object, which was not a god, not an angel, nor a royal and a painted nobleman, but an ordinary man. Nor is the beauty and enjoyment of life shown, but a sad and moving drama. The critics branded it as a vulgar and sensational painting, but this curse does not affect public opinion which in fact is also fond of sensation. Even this painting was also shown in England, and for the audience charged entrance fee. It is really a solo exhibition in the real sense (denotative) because that exhibited only one painting. Of the tickets, Gericault managed to raise a lot of money.
If drawn in common with previous events, this "Medusa Raft" for the flow of Romanticism is the same as "Oath Horatii" for David's Neoceliskism, proclaiming something new. But the form itself is not very new. David's recipe was abandoned and again Michaelangelo and Rubens replaced it. Although not in terms of its keklasikannya, but how to describe the characters, diagonal compositions and tenebroso it is dramatic. The rhythm movement is very clear from the lower left to the top right, from the eye-catcher in the naked body in the foreground to the hopeful hopes of a helper coming to the upper right. This grouping feels like a wave current that will break down on the beach, full of dynamics.