Theodore Gericault (b.1791 d.1824) was a French painter who had a huge influence on the development of Romantic art in France. He was influenced by Rubens and the military subjects of Baron Gros. He developed an interest in horses which appear often in his works. His most well known painting, The Raft of Medusa (c.1819) uses macabre realism on a vast scale to convey tragedy.