About Géricault Life Magazine – 2019 to 2024
My name is Paul Harper. I am the owner, researcher, publisher, and editor of Géricault Life Magazine. I founded GLM in the fall of 2018 – the first issue appeared in January, 2019. From 2019 through 2023 I wrote and published over 120 articles examining the circumstances of Gericault’s life and on how Gericault has been presented to the world. That task is not yet complete. I published my GLM as an open-source site for all interested in Gericault and his world. I am happy to share all that I can as freely as I can.
Publishing has changed in the years since. I always planned to produce a book and still do. However, taking a hard look at the quality of art books today and the changing market, I find myself facing the same sorts of challenges Theodore Gericault faced in 1817 when he returned from Italy. Gericault wanted to work within France’s art establishment, hoping in 1819 to finally gain the acclaim he sought and failed to find in the Paris Salons of 1812 and 1814.
Lithography arrived in France in 1815 and took root during Gericault’s absence in 1816. His close friend Horace Vernet was one of the first artists to exploit the media. The changes facing those working in the publishing arena are much more intense and pressing.
My own view is that print is no longer the most important media for historians and art historians with a research to share and stories to tell.
So, now in 2024, as I move from sharing my new findings about Theodore Gericault and his world to sharing my new findings about Theodore Gericault and his art – what is an explicitly intense visual exercise – I find myself delighted to offer viewers images, and videos, which allow each viewer to expand for detail to taste, alongside links which allow viewers to instantly access additional resources, images, and links.
Expect some tweaks herenow and then to improve your experience at GLM. Visit often, please.
I’m on Substack now. That’s where you’ll find my latest work on Gericault from now on.