Saint George and the dragon (London version) - Paolo Uccello

Artist :

Paolo Uccello (1397-1475)

Date :

1470

Type of image :

Peinture sur toile

Dimensions (HxL cm) :

55,6x74,2 cm

Topic :

Histoire sacrée. Saint Georges

Storage Location :

Londres, The National Gallery

NG6294 (salle 54)

Description

This version departs from Jacques de Voragine's account. The princess no longer seems to be in any danger. Holding the dragon on a leash, she invites the saint to perform a stylized ritual, no longer a knightly combat.
The completely artificial character of the dragon's lair could be a nod to theatrical performance and its pasteboard sets: the backdrop, depicting a vague landscape in perspective to give depth to a cramped theatrical space, is superimposed on the left by a pasteboard lair mounted on a slider. But the characters still move in a frieze.

History :

2. Purchased in 1959 thanks to an extraordinary grant and various contributions.

3. The princess holding the dragon on a leash must come from a Byzantine version of the legend, as attested by the recurrence of the motif in icons.

Indexed items :

Dragon

Cheval

Textual Sources :

J. de Voragine, La Légende dorée, Saint Georges

GF I 297

Technical Data

Notice #001450

Image HD

Past ID :

A0769

Image editing :

Image web

Image Origin :

Collections en ligne de la National Gallery de Londres (https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk)

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