Description
Saint George slaying the dragon in limestone carved in the round with traces of polychromy. Helmeted and clad in armor consisting of a breastplate, shoulder pads, thigh pads, knee pads and solerets, he holds the reins in his right hand and would have been holding a spear in the other; the horse covered with a blanket tramples the dragon lying on the ground with its left hind leg, turning its menacing mouth. Bohemia, circa 1380 H. 37 cm - W. 39 cm - D. 15 cm (small accidents, missing parts and restorations) This handsome group can be associated with a number of St. Georges on horseback, whose image became popular in Bohemia following the creation in 1373 of the large bronze equestrian statue attributed to the Parler family and on display in Prague's National Gallery (fig.a). The figure given here of the patron saint of the Prague basilica seems to have been inspired by equestrian seals of the period, such as that of Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, made in 1374, when the prince was just five years old (fig.b). Works consulted: - A. Legner, Die Parler und der Schöne Stil 1350-1400, Cologne, 1978, p. 275 - Exhibition New-York - Prague 2006, Prague - The crown of Bohemia 1347-1437, The Metropolitan Museum - Castle, cat. B. Drake Boehm and J. Fajt
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Saint George slaying the dragon in limestone carved in the round with traces of polychromy. Helmeted and clad in armor consisting of a breastplate, shoulder pads, thigh pads, knee pads and solerets, he holds the reins in his right hand and would have been holding a spear in the other; the horse covered with a blanket tramples the dragon lying on the ground with its left hind leg, turning its menacing mouth. Bohemia, circa 1380 H. 37 cm - W. 39 cm - D. 15 cm (small accidents, missing parts and restorations) This handsome group can be associated with a number of St. Georges on horseback, whose image became popular in Bohemia following the creation in 1373 of the large bronze equestrian statue attributed to the Parler family and on display in Prague's National Gallery (fig.a). The figure given here of the patron saint of the Prague basilica seems to have been inspired by equestrian seals of the period, such as that of Sigismund, Elector of Brandenburg, made in 1374, when the prince was just five years old (fig.b). Works consulted: - A. Legner, Die Parler und der Schöne Stil 1350-1400, Cologne, 1978, p. 275 - Exhibition New-York - Prague 2006, Prague - The crown of Bohemia 1347-1437, The Metropolitan Museum - Castle, cat. B. Drake Boehm and J. Fajt
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