A battered raft crowded with figures drifts on a dark, heaving sea beneath a sky split between storm and pale sunrise. Bodies lie sprawled in the foreground, some limp and pale, others slumped together or reaching weakly toward the water. At the raft’s left, a man props his head in his hand, his posture heavy with exhaustion, while another figure beside him turns away, his face hidden in shadow.

The central mass of the raft is crowded with survivors, their limbs tangled, some raising their arms in desperate signals toward the horizon. To the right, two figures stand atop the pile, one waving a white cloth and the other a red scrap, both straining upward in a last attempt to attract rescue. The sail looms above the group, tattered and dark, its mast casting a diagonal shadow that divides the scene between the gloom of the storm and the faint promise of light.

The colors are somber and earthy, dominated by browns, ochres, and deep blues, with the flesh of the figures rendered in stark, almost chalky tones. Broad, visible brushstrokes create a sense of agitation in the water and sky, while the figures are modeled with rapid, expressive touches that heighten the drama of the scene. Small details, such as clenched hands, twisted limbs, and the glint of light on wet skin, convey the ordeal’s physical and emotional toll.

In the lower right corner, a figure lies face-down with an arm trailing limply off the raft, their back and legs illuminated by a shaft of pale light. The left edge of the raft is bordered by dark, churning water, with white foam lapping against the wooden planks and the outstretched limbs of the fallen. In the background, the horizon is a thin line of orange and yellow, separating the turbulent sea from the cloud-filled sky that darkens toward the upper left corner.

The paint is applied in sweeping, energetic strokes in the water and sky, while the outlines of figures and the sail are sharply defined by contrasting areas of light and shadow. Théodore Géricault creates this vision of disaster in the 19th century, as identified by the Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Angers.