For example, the middle class industrialists, merchants, lawyers, bankers, and doctors, where experiencing economic and wealth prosperity, but still were denied the privileges of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie nobles (Roberts 46). The monarch system rested privileges and old social order to the ideals of the estates that industrialists and merchants with higher economic prosperity could not climb up the social ladder (Spielvogel 402)
Ultimately, the survivors were reduced to throwing the wounded overboard, and only after they had been reduced to fifteen men, "almost naked; their bodies and faces disfigured by the scorching beams of the sun," were they finally rescued by the Argus, which had set sail six days earlier to search for the raft and the wreck of the Medusa (Savigny & Correard 203). Theodore Gericault's the Raft of the Medusa captures the moment on the 17th of July when the Argus first became visible to the survivors, and his choice to reflect upon this moment in particular reveals something about his intentions (Alhadeff 70)
However, well before the Bourbon monarchy was again "overthrown by a popular insurrection, and vanquished in a street fight," an event occurred which seemed to serve as an omen for the ruin to come and laid bare the impotency of the monarchy and its supporters just as it was seeking to reestablish its legitimacy. In the summer of 1816, just a year after Napoleon's decisive defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and the "second chance" for the recently reascended Bourbon monarchy, the "low moment in French history" that was the Bourbon restoration was marred by the crash of a French naval frigate, the Medusa, carrying the newly-appointed governor of Senegal (Athanassoglou-Kallmyer 811)
Baron John Benn Walsh Ormathwaite's book on the French Revolution offered useful insights into the political context of the time, especially because it was written within a generation of the actual events. In addition to actual research, this study required a careful consideration of the proper analytical methodology, because while after researching the subject it seems clear that Gericault's painting contains a political message, "many works of art that convey a message, that communicate points-of-view, emotions or attitudes, do not provide or constitute arguments" (Blair 27)
In the summer of 1816, just a year after Napoleon's decisive defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and the "second chance" for the recently reascended Bourbon monarchy, the "low moment in French history" that was the Bourbon restoration was marred by the crash of a French naval frigate, the Medusa, carrying the newly-appointed governor of Senegal (Athanassoglou-Kallmyer 811). "France had only just reacquired its West African territories in the treaty that finally ended the Napoleonic Wars," and so the rapid installation of a new governor was paramount in demonstrating the new regime's control over its empire (Brandt 171)
In the summer of 1816, just a year after Napoleon's decisive defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and the "second chance" for the recently reascended Bourbon monarchy, the "low moment in French history" that was the Bourbon restoration was marred by the crash of a French naval frigate, the Medusa, carrying the newly-appointed governor of Senegal (Athanassoglou-Kallmyer 811). "France had only just reacquired its West African territories in the treaty that finally ended the Napoleonic Wars," and so the rapid installation of a new governor was paramount in demonstrating the new regime's control over its empire (Brandt 171)
Gericault's desire was undoubtedly to sell the painting either to a private buyer or the government, but "the size of the painting made it impossible to sell to private buyers and its subject matter had no appeal to a conservative royalist government," so it went into storage in his studio (Isham 168). However, this did not mean that his hope that the painting would be "a catalyst for political reform" failed to come true; rather, he simply died before seeing the true fruits of his work, when, just over a decade later, the Bourbon monarchy was once again overthrown (Galenson 103)
Thus, while Charles' ascendancy may represent the generalize ascendancy of the Other, one cannot get around the fact that it also represents a direct rebuke to the colonialist tendency, and even more specifically, a rebuke to Julien Schmaltz, who abandoned Charles and the other to die so that he might take up his post as the avatar of French colonialism. This is why one cannot view Charles' ascension to the top of the raft as entirely hopeful, the "radically democratic vision of a collective body that rises from its martyrdom to support society's most marginalized constituent, the black man, at its apex" (Grigsby 168)
When looking at the first few years of the Bourbon restoration, one can see the beginnings of this almost inevitable decline even as the restored monarchy attempted to portray itself with the same pomp and glory that had marked Napoleon's imperial reign and the old monarchy which had preceded him. The Bourbon restoration began with an inauspicious start, when, "after enduring but little over ten months the restored Monarchy had collapsed like a pack of cards," as Napoleon returned from exile and Louis XVIII was forced to flee (Hall 70)
One of the dead men is only visible from the waist up, representing one of those "unhappy wretches, having their lower extremities entangled in the openings between the pieces of the raft," while the other's body is almost entirely visible, naked and splayed (Savigny & Correard 181). The more visible of the two seems to be cradled by an older man, and indeed, various critics have "taken [this] to be a father grieving the death of his son" (Harris 602)
The Raft of the Medusa was his first major work, and was exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1819 as part of a massive installation sponsored by Louis XVIII; "his choice was careful and methodical: this was a subject matter he considered suitable for an ambitious painting with which he could win the Prix de Rome" (Deligiori 613). Gericault's desire was undoubtedly to sell the painting either to a private buyer or the government, but "the size of the painting made it impossible to sell to private buyers and its subject matter had no appeal to a conservative royalist government," so it went into storage in his studio (Isham 168)
It would not be until two years later, when the published account of two of the survivors inspired a young painter to immortalize the events, would the full impact of the raft of the Medusa be felt. The painter, Theodore Gericault, imbued his image with political imagery, and the Raft of the Medusa may be interpreted as a direct critique of the bungling, haphazard governance of the Bourbon regime, a critique that predicts the crumbling of imperial power over the course of the Bourbon restoration and the "bloody class war" that would ultimately result in a second revolution (Ledbury 608)
As will be seen, these two men represented on a micro-scale the indifference, incompetence, and cronyism that would come to characterize the Bourbon regime and ultimately lead to the final downfall of the monarchy in 1830. For all intents and purposes, Chaumareys should not have been captaining the Medusa at all; "determined to exclude naval officers who had served under Napoleon, [French Minister of the Marine] Dubouchage made his selection on the basis of de Chaumareys' aristocratic pedigree and pro-Bourbon sympathies, and not on his merits as a sea captain," which were likely negligible considering that "at the time the Medusa set sail in June 1816, de Chaumareys had not served on board a French ship for twenty years" (Riding 38)
Later, Governor Schmaltz would attempt to explain the abandonment of the raft by saying that: Some men were on the front of the raft, at the place where the towrope was fixed, which they pulled so as to draw the boat nearer to them; they had already pulled several fathoms of it to them, but a wave coming, gave a violent shock; these men were obliged to let go: the boats proceeded more rapidly, till the rope was stretched; at the moment when the boats effected this tension the effort was such, that the rope broke. (Savigny & Correard 175-176)
In reality, the image is far more nuanced, and argues that any hope for the future must take into account the atrocities of the past, and perhaps even consume and subsume those atrocities in order to overcome them. For example, Jack Spector focuses on the image of Jean Charles, arguing that he "represents the repressed and socially passive Others who move to the top and reveal themselves as active members of the group" (Spector 33)
In this play, Ionesco illustrated his belief in "pataphysiques," which holds that there are no scientific laws; rather every phenomenon is new and cannot be explained (Walker 153). The play premiered in Paris on May 11, 1950 (Ionesco and Allen 6) and became widely popular (Ashton 38)
This attitude carried over to Jarry's first play, "Ubu Roi," beginning with the word "Pshitt" (Jarry and Connelly, The Ubu Plays 21) or "Shittr" (Jarry and Lantier, Ubu Roi 7), depending on the translation. If for no other reason, the play was notable as the first time the word "Shit" was intentionally used onstage (Dittmar and Entin 5)
If for no other reason, the play was notable as the first time the word "Shit" was intentionally used onstage (Dittmar and Entin 5). Described as "the rise and fall of a greedy, dim-witted, and obese regicidal murderer" (Hrbek 247) and now considered a "scatological romp" (Sanders 97), the play was roundly booed and cheered by the premiere audience
In this play, Ionesco illustrated his belief in "pataphysiques," which holds that there are no scientific laws; rather every phenomenon is new and cannot be explained (Walker 153). The play premiered in Paris on May 11, 1950 (Ionesco and Allen 6) and became widely popular (Ashton 38)
b. Ubu Roi "Ubu Roi" premiered in Paris on December 11, 1896 (Jarry and Lantier VI)