Le Radeau de la Méduse

Turning to the other thing that prompted this blog category (don't worry, I'll come back to the Sawaya exhibit), the BrickPirate contest inspired Captainsmog to make a LEGO version of Le Radeau de la Méduse. Théodore Géricault created this huge (5 meters by 7 meters!) oil painting in 1818-1819. It's based on a shipwreck that occurred in 1816, so the connection to current events caused a stir when it was first displayed at the Paris Salon, an influential annual art show at the Académie des Beaux-Arts. This work, seen as very influential on the Romantic school of French painting, is on display at the Louvre.