Saint George and the Dragon (Notke)
Saint George and the Dragon is a late medieval wooden sculpture depicting the legend of Saint George and the Dragon, located in Storkyrkan in Stockholm, Sweden. It is attributed to Bernt Notke and was commissioned by the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Elder. It was inaugurated in 1489. It has been described as an artistic high point in the artistic production of Bernt Notke.
Saint George and the Dragon by Bernt Notke
Bronze replica in Stockholm (1912)
Near contemporary Saint George and the Dragon in Kråksmåla Church, Sweden
Saint George and the Dragon
In a legend, Saint George—a soldier venerated in Christianity—defeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tribute once a year. This was acceptable to the villagers until a princess was chosen as the next offering. The saint thereupon rescues the princess and kills the dragon. The narrative was first set in Cappadocia in the earliest sources of the 11th and 12th centuries, but transferred to Libya in the 13th-century Golden Legend.
Saint George Killing the Dragon, woodcut by Albrecht Dürer (1501/4)
Thracian horseman with serpent-entwined tree (2nd century)
Funerary relief of a Roman cavalryman trampling a barbarian warrior (4th or 5th century). Grosvenor Museum, Chester
Fenestrella interpreted by the Louvre as Horus on horseback spearing Set in the shape of a crocodile (4th century).