Saint George kills the dragon

Bartolomeo Vivarini, head of the Vivarini workshop in Murano, painted this Saint George Killing the Dragon around 1485. The warrior saint's battle with the dragon was one of the most popular subjects in Venetian and Italian art, symbolizing the triumph of Christianity over evil. Vivarini's workshop supplied altarpiece panels to churches across the Venetian territories. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Tempera on panel with Vivarini's characteristic crisp figure drawing and bright coloring. The dynamic combat scene between the armored saint and the dragon demonstrates his narrative skill.