Summarize the events that motivated Théodore Géricault to paint The Raft of the "Medusa."

What will be an ideal response?

The ideal answer should include:
- On July 2, 1816, a government frigate named the Medusa, carrying soldiers and settlers to Senegal, was shipwrecked on a reef 50 miles off the coast of West Africa.
- The Medusa sank because of her captain's negligence. He was an inexperienced captain, commissioned on the basis of his noble birth and connections to the monarchy.
- The captain and crew saved themselves, leaving 150 people, including a woman, adrift on a makeshift raft. As the captain left with his crew, he abandoned the remaining passengers to die alone.
- Only 15 survived the days that followed, days marked by insanity, mutilation, famine, thirst, and finally cannibalism.
- Géricault was outraged and the painting captures the story of the enduring survival of these last few passengers, their struggle, and their tragedy.
- The composition of the painting is unique in that it is painted with opposing diagonals, adding drama to the scene.