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Notes
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To the early Christians a dragon symbolised evil. The conversion of a heathen country to Christianity by a saint would thus be depicted in symbolic form, as slaying a dragon with a spear. Saint George was shown in this manner to signify the conversion of Cappadocia (now part of Turkey) to Christianity. A maiden often personified Cappadocia. The story was later adapted and Saint George was said to have fought a dragon, outside the walls of a city, in order to rescue the king’s daughter who had been offered to the dragon as a sacrifice. In the background of this work we can see Saint George on a white horse (symbolising purity) slaying the dragon whilst the princess stands to one side, her arms raised, signifying her joy at being rescued. During the sixteenth-century Northern Italy was in a perpetual state of war.
Continued fighting in Italy stimulated the rapid evolution of armour design and an artist able to produce accurate and skilful portrayals of armour and weapons would have been greatly appreciated. The artist has taken great care to depict the protective elements of the armour such as the Pauldrons on the shoulder, Besagew to defend the armpit and the Couter which consisted of a winged joint to protect the elbow.
Title
Saint George
Date
17th C
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 134.3 x W 98 cm
Accession number
B.M.62
Acquisition method
bequeathed by the Founders, 1885
Work type
Painting
