_J. L. A. T. Géricault_ (French: 1791-1824).
Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault, animal and historical
painter, was a precursor of the revolt of the Romanticists
against the Classicists, which was carried further by Delacroix
(see 2289). His most famous picture, "The Raft of the Medusa"
(Louvre), was exhibited at the Salon in 1819 and excited much
controversy. He was the son of a prosperous advocate; and as
a young man became a member of the Jockey Club, and lived the
life of the _jeunesse dorée_. He had some instruction in art
from Charles Vernet and Guérin, but his real master was Rubens
in the Louvre. In 1816 he went to Italy. After 1819 he visited
England, where he practised the then new art of lithography.
His picture of "The Derby at Epsom" (1821) is in the Louvre.