St. George Killing the Dragon

Paris Bordone's Saint George Killing the Dragon brings the Venetian painter's sensuous color and dynamic figure style to one of the most popular hagiographic narratives in Western art. Saint George's mounted combat with the dragon protecting the threatened princess was a subject that allowed painters to combine military action, idealized beauty, and narrative drama in a format particularly suited to secular collectors who also maintained devotional commitments. Bordone's characteristic warm palette and the vigorous movement of the combat scene demonstrate his ability to bring the Venetian tradition's aesthetic richness to secular narrative subjects.

The painting demonstrates the technical conventions and artistic vocabulary of the period, with attention to composition, color, and the rendering of form appropriate to the subject.