Saint Margaret
Peter Paul Rubens·1730
Historical Context
The depiction of Saint Margaret attributed to Rubens and dated 1730 is again impossible as an autograph work given Rubens's death in 1640, and likely represents a work from the extended Rubenesque tradition or a copy of an original Rubens composition. Saint Margaret of Antioch — who overcame the dragon that swallowed her by bursting from its belly with her cross — was a popular subject for altarpieces in the Counter-Reformation Catholic tradition. Rubens had treated saintly subjects throughout his career, and his workshop continued producing such images after his death.
Technical Analysis
The saint is likely depicted with the dragon underfoot, the standard iconographic attribute of her victory over the beast. In the Rubenesque tradition, the figure would be rendered with warm flesh tones and rich drapery, the dragon providing a dynamic foil of dark scales and menacing form.
