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Medieval · National Gallery of Art · 42391

Saint George and the Dragon

English 14th or 15th Century, 1370/1420

Carved from cream-white alabaster stone, this free-standing sculpture shows an armored knight sitting atop a horse, which straddles a curled up, snarling dragon in front of a kneeling person. In this photograph, the bodies of the horse and man face our left in profile. The dragon is pinned on its back with its head under the horse’s mouth. There are some losses: the head of the kneeling person is gone, and parts of both of the knight’s arms are missing. The lance the knight holds and the sword at his hip are also fragmented. The knight leans forward with his right arm, farther from us, raised and a shield with a red cross is affixed to the opposite upper arm. His pointed, rounded helmet is lined with chain mail around the chin and neck. Simple bands in gold, red, and black decorate the knight’s armor as well as the saddle and bridle on the horse. The horse looks down at the dragon underfoot, his chin pulled sharply back. The dragon is painted burgundy red, and has a large head with a gaping mouth filled with sharp teeth and fangs. Claws tear at the horse’s legs as the knight drives the lance into the dragon’s body. The creature’s black wings are pinned under its body, and its dotted tail curls up between the hind legs. To our left, near the dragon and horse's heads, the kneeling person wears a gold-edged dress under a voluminous robe. One hand holds the black and gold striped band looping around the dragon’s neck, and the other is raised to that person’s chest. The stone under the people and animals is roughly carved, suggesting a rocky ground.

National Gallery of Art · National Gallery of Art, Washington · Samuel H. Kress Collection · CC0 · Public domain

Artist
English 14th or 15th Century
Date
1370/1420
Medium
painted and gilded alabaster
Dimensions
81.5 x 60.5 x 20.5 cm (32 1/16 x 23 13/16 x 8 1/16 in.)
Era
Medieval

Why it matters

Saint George and the Dragon, dated 1370/1420, is catalogued by National Gallery of Art as a work in painted and gilded alabaster. The museum attributes the work to English 14th or 15th Century. The recorded dimensions are 81.5 x 60.5 x 20.5 cm (32 1/16 x 23 13/16 x 8 1/16 in.). This factual page is generated from the museum catalogue and links directly to its source record.

National Gallery of Art collection record