St George and the Dragon
by CARPACCIO, Vittore, Tempera on canvas, 141 x 360 cm
Episode No. 4 of the series of seven paintings “Episodes from the Life of Sts Jerome, George and Triphun”.
St George and the Dragon is set in a wide open space, unlike anything Carpaccio had ever done before. The whole of the foreground is taken up by St George on his horse and the monstrous animal, wounded and dying, arranged along a diagonal line that goes from the praying princess to the tip of the dragon’s curved tail. On the ground, baked by the sun, we can see the remains of the dragon’s victims and vipers, lizards, toads and vultures, each realistically portrayed. To the left, from the terraces of the fairytale palaces, the inhabitants of Selene watch the outcome of this extraordinary tournament.