Saint George and the Dragon

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Saint George and the Dragon

Place of OriginFrance

Dateabout 1480-1490

DimensionsWith frame: 25 × 19 in. (63.5 × 48.3 cm)

Mediumoil on wood panel

ClassificationPaintings

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1943.30

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 16

Label TextA knight in shining armor! The hero of this painting is Saint George, a Christian who lived in the ancient Roman Empire. A warrior saint, he was popular in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance for his defense of the Christian faith, and of the weak or helpless. His most famous deed was rescuing a maiden from a dragon. The beast had besieged a pagan city, each day devouring a youth in return for not destroying the entire town. Saint George arrived at the desperate city just as the king’s daughter, selected by lot as the next victim, headed to her death. Rushing in at the last moment, George made the sign of the cross, killed the dragon, and saved the city. Awed by the saint’s prowess and faith, the townspeople converted to Christianity. Fifteenth-century viewers would have known the religious aspect of the story, but probably enjoyed the artist’s emphasis on the exciting adventures of a gallant knight.Published ReferencesReinach, S., Répertoire de peintures du moyen age et de la renaissance, Paris, 1907, II, p. 612, repr.

Sperling, Emil M., Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art, New York, Kleinberger Galleries, 1927, no. 20, p. 57, repr.

"A French Primitive Acquired," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News, June 1943, no. 102, unpaginated, repr. on cover.

Ring, G., A Century of French Painting, 1400-1500, London, 1949, no. 200.

The Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, European Paintings, Toledo, 1976, p. 60, pl. 179.

Putney, Richard H., Medieval Art, Medieval People: The Cloister Gallery of the Toledo Museum of Art, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, 2002, p. 47, repr. (col.) (fig. 39).

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 118, repr. (col.).

Busine, Laurent and Manfred Sellink, eds.,The Glory of Saint George: Man, Dragon and Death,, Brussels, Mercatorfonds, 2015, p. 109, repr. (col.) p. 108.

Exhibition HistoryParis, Louvre and Bibliothèque Nationale, Exposition des primitifs francais (cat. by H. Bouchot), 1904, no. 91.

New York, Kleinberger Galleries, Loan Exhibition of French Primitives and Objects of Art, Oct. 15 - Nov. 12, 1927.

London, Royal Academy, Commemorative Catalogue of the Exhibition of French Art, 1200-1900, 1932, no. 31, pl. XII.