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A carregar... Wreck of the Medusa (2007)por Jonathan Miles
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Adira ao LibraryThing para descobrir se irá gostar deste livro. Ainda não há conversas na Discussão sobre este livro. really liked it-just wish more was known found it somewhat difficult to keep track of the different castaways ( ) In The Wreck of the Medusa, Jonathan Miles deftly interweaves the story of the ill-fated shipwreck, its survivors, and the life of Theodore Gericault who rendered the famous painting of the ship's raft. The story of the raft's unfortunate fate is the most sensational aspect of the shipwreck as it combines the injustice of the captain abandoning hundreds, mutiny, and cannibalism. But Miles resists the temptation to descend to lurid descriptions of the horrors. Nor does he shortchange the sufferings of those in lifeboats who had to trek through the unyielding desert. Instead Miles' descriptions are evocative with many sections drawn directly from first-person accounts. The author lends depth to the reader's understanding of Gericault's painting by describing the painter's artistic development, the influence of his personal life, of survivor Alexandre Correard, and the implications of Gericault's political leanings - particularly concerning the abolition movement. While certainly engrossing, Miles' account of the shipwreck is a confusion of names. It was difficult at times to tell who was on what craft, who landed where, and in what circumstances. Given the importance the raft would later take, that section also seemed a bit brief. Furthermore, a few incidents were included that seemed to have little to do with the overall point of the work (the Fualdes incident). The placement of the plate of the famous painting renders it useless as the main focus of the canvas (and many of the details the author analyzes) are hidden in the fold of the pages. Luckily the painting is easily found online. Aside from these few quibbles, Miles has written an informative and thorough book examining the causes and the influences (artistic and political) of the famous wreck of the Medusa. Well worth reading. 4425. The Wreck of the Medusa The Most Famous Sea Disaster of the Nineteenth Century, by Jonathan Miles (read 2 Apr 2008) This is not only a well-researched account of the wreck of the French ship Medusa off the coast of Africa on July 2,1816, but also an account of the political life of France in the time of King Louis XVIII and a study of the life pf the great Romantic painter Theodore Gericault and of his famous painting The Wreck of the Medusa. The research evidenced is vast and the events of July 1816 are told in all their horror. Anyone who has studied art history is probably already familiar with Gericault's famous painting of the Medusa. I was first introduced to the painting in high school and while I remembered that it was inspired by a true and politically important incident, I didn't really know much beyond that. This book explains the event in great detail, but in a way that is very readable and not at all tedious. It also provides an overview of Gericault's life, his experience of creating the painting and public reactions to it. So really, you get a lot out of this book: naval history, 19th century French political history, art history and it has enough depictions of humanity at its worst that one might even classify it as having "true crime" elements. Highly recommended. sem críticas | adicionar uma crítica
A "thrilling . . . captivating" account of the most famous shipwreck before the Titanic--a tragedy that inspired an unforgettable masterpiece of Western art (The Boston Globe). In June 1816, the Medusa set sail. Commanded by an incompetent captain, the frigate ran aground off the desolate West African coast. During the chaotic evacuation a privileged few claimed the lifeboats, while 147 men and one woman were herded aboard a makeshift raft that was soon cut loose by the boats that had pledged to tow it to safety. Those on the boats made it ashore and undertook a two-hundred-mile trek through the sweltering Sahara, but conditions were far worse on the drifting raft. Crazed, parched, and starving, the diminishing band fell into mayhem. When rescue arrived thirteen days later, only fifteen were alive. Among the handful of survivors were two men whose bestselling account of the maritime disaster scandalized Europe and inspired promising artist Théodore Géricault, who threw himself into a study of the Medusa tragedy, turning it into a vast canvas in his painting, The Raft of the Medusa. Drawing on contemporaneously published accounts and journals of survivors, The Wreck of the Medusa is "a captivating gem about art's relation to history" (Booklist) and ultimately "a thrilling read" (The Guardian). Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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Google Books — A carregar... GénerosSistema Decimal de Melvil (DDC)910.9163History and Geography Geography and Travel Geography and Travel History, geographic treatment, biography - Discovery. exploration Geography of and travel in areas, regions, places in general Air And Water Atlantic OceanClassificação da Biblioteca do Congresso dos EUA (LCC)AvaliaçãoMédia:
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