About the Artist

An important representative of early Romanticism in France. Beginning in 1808 he studied under Carle Vernet and then in 1810 onwards under Pierre Guerin. He was strongly influenced by the artists of antiquity and the masters of the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as artist Antoine-Jean Gros, and later by the works of Michelangelo and Raphael, John Constable and Richard Parkes Bonington. Gericault preferred motifs with current issues and contemporary appeal, and was interested in equestrian paintings, the human physiognomy and existentially extreme situations. Rather than using abstract ideal forms he renders active and realistic representations with passionate feeling. His works include Officer of the Guard on Horseback, Chalk Burning and Kleptomaniac (The Insane).