Saint George and the Dragon Raphael (1483-1520)

Description of Raphael Santi’s painting St. George Defeating the Dragon

St. George in Raphael’s painting looks quite different from how we are used to seeing and imagining him. We rely on Orthodox iconographic traditions, so we already have a certain image.

In Raphael, however, we see a knight clothed in armor. He seems invulnerable, but the face of the saint is open, he doesn’t hide it under his visor. It seems that St. George is unwavering in his decision to slay the dragon, which brings many misfortunes to people. The horse is already frightened, but the rider continues his slaughter of the foe.

The saint’s adversary is not portrayed as glowing with anger, on the contrary, he is cunning, treacherous and has the look of a tempter. He understands that he is facing a fearless knight, who has not been stopped even by the fact that his spear is broken into pieces. George swings his sword at the dragon, and the dragon seems to be trying to offer the warrior a bargain: to bestow the treasure and divide the booty in two, but only that he let him live.

In the background, a girl can be seen flailing on the cliff. Who is she? Why is she watching the duel with bated breath? Legend has it that this young beauty was sacrificed to a bloodthirsty beast that had already slaughtered all the sheep in the city.

The townspeople first offered the dragon poor animals, but the beast was not satisfied with them either and began to devour the sacrificed humans. And only St. George dared to enter into an unequal battle, entrusting his fate to the Lord.

We know the continuation of the legend: the brave warrior cut off the foul serpent. But at that moment, the girl had no idea what the dragon could do to the man who entered the fight. After all, the monster had already taken so many lives! But a second more, and the head of the fire-breathing beast, cut off by George’s sword, would fall to the ground. Both the beauty and the whole city will be saved.