Saint George and the Dragon (Raphael)
| St. George and the Dragon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Raphael |
| Year | c. 1505 |
| Medium | Oil on wood |
| Dimensions | 28.5 cm × 21.5 cm (11.2 in × 8.5 in) |
| Location | National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. |
St. George and the Dragon is a small oil on wood
Duke of Urbino, by King Henry VII of England. The first word of the order's motto, "HONI" can be made out. The painting was presumably commissioned by the Duke, either to present to the English emissary who brought the regalia to Urbino, Sir Gilbert Talbot
, or to Henry himself—recent scholarship suggests the latter. The honour paid to a minor Italian ruler reflected Henry's appreciation of the cultural prestige of Renaissance Italy as much as any diplomatic purpose.
The traditional subject,
in London.
Provenance
By 1627 the painting belonged to
Catherine II of Russia in 1772. For a century and a half, the panel hung in the Imperial Hermitage Museum. It was one of the most popular paintings in the entire collection of the Tsars. In March 1931 it was part of the Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings, and bought by Andrew Mellon, as part of his founding donation to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. This and other foundational artworks, including paintings by Jan van Eyck, Sandro Botticelli, and Titian
, helped place the National Gallery among the most significant collections of Renaissance art.
See also
- List of paintings by Raphael
- List of paintings in the National Gallery of Art formerly in the Hermitage Museum
References
Further reading
- Pitman, Joanna (2006). The Dragon's Trail. New York: Touchstone. ISBN 9780743265133.
External links
Media related to Saint George with the Dragon (Washington) by Raffaello Sanzio at Wikimedia Commons
