Top Must-See Masterpieces at the Louvre Museum, Paris

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8Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault (1818-1819)

Based on a true tabloid-like tragedy of shipwreck and cannibalism, Théodore Géricault painted this icon of French Romanticism at the age of 27.

The blood and gore depicted here was based on Géricault’s tireless study in morgues. Of course, everyone then (and now) had to see the painting in the flesh.