Saint George Slaying The Dragon, Veronese School, 17th Century

Oil on slate.
In a compact format, our painting powerfully illustrates one of the most frequently reproduced episodes from the Golden Legend in Western art: the battle of Saint George against the dragon. According to Jacobus de Voragine, the holy knight delivered the city of Silene (an ancient Roman province in the East), terrorized by a monster to which a human victim was offered each day. The moment depicted is when the princess (seen praying in the distance on the right), chosen for the sacrifice, approaches the beast, and Saint George appears to rescue her. In shining armor and mounted on a chestnut-pink horse, he pierces the dragon's side with his lance, which shatters. A ray of light breaks through the clouds to illuminate the princess, reduced to a tiny silhouette, thus reinforcing the monumentality of the duel and lending the work its epic and sacred character.
This composition is in keeping with the style of early 17th-century Veronese painters, influenced by the Venetian tradition and Caravaggesque naturalism. The slate support, rare but prized for its contrasts, evokes the work of Alessandro Turchi, known as L'Orbetto, the leading Veronese painter working on stone, whose focused light and metallic highlights are echoed here. The narrative tension and the horse's vigor also resonate with the works of Marcantonio Bassetti and Pasquale Ottino. Enveloped in a tight chiaroscuro and a dynamic diagonal composition, this painting likely originated in the workshop of one of these masters.

The legend of George of Lydda, a Roman officer, was recounted around 1266 by the Archbishop of Genoa, Jacobus de Voragine, in the famous "Golden Legend." The hagiographic writings of Saint George, a true tool for promoting the Catholic faith, are a motif taken up by numerous artists from the Middle Ages onward. Born in the East in the 3rd century, brought to the West by the Crusades, and venerated there, the saint is said to have delivered the city of Silene (in the Roman province of Libya) from a dragon which, after devouring its daily tribute of animals and children, demanded the king's own daughter. George's battle against the dragon gave rise to a significant body of iconography, especially from the 13th century onward; it embodies the chivalric ideal and symbolizes the victory of Good over Evil.

Like a jewel in its setting, the late 17th-century Emilian frame in carved and gilded wood enhances our precious painting. Dimensions: 17 x 12.7 cm (slate) – 39 x 37 cm (with frame)