Saint George Slaying the Dragon

16 th century
Anonymous
Oil on panel

The Catholic Church has traditionally interpreted the figure of Saint George as an instrument of God on earth. The white horse upon which he rides, symbolizes the Church itself.

The lance represents the weapon granted by God to overcome blasphemy, evil, and temptation, embodied here by the fallen angel in the form of the dragon.

This iconography bears clear affinities with that of Saint Michael the Archangel (San Miguel Arcángel), since both are depicted slaying the dragon or the demon with a metal weapon, either a lance or a sword.

According to medieval legend, Saint George confronts the dragon in order to rescue a princess held captive before a castle or the walls of a city ruled by her father, the king, who implores the saint to save her on his behalf. The knight bears upon his chest the Cross of Saint George , which is essentially the same as the Cross of Saint John the Baptist, although with the colors reversed: Saint John’s cross is white,
whereas Saint George’s is red.

This work was commissioned by the parish from an anonymous sixteenth-century artist, probably with the sole intention of invoking the saint’s protection against the numerous diseases and epidemics of cholera and plague—symbolized by the dragon—that were devastating the city at that time.