Madonna with St George
by CORREGGIO, Oil on canvas, 285 x 190 cm
Correggio painted this altarpiece for the oratory of the confraternity of San Pietro Martire in Modena. Around the Madonna and Child are set St Gimignano who is holding a model of the city of Modena, of which he is the patron, along with St John the Baptist, St Peter the Martyr, patron of the confraternity, and St George with his foot on the dragon’s head. The putto closest to the foreground has a vivacity that brings Parmigianino to mind. Correggio is using a Mannerist back lighting, derived from Beccafumi.