Saint George and the Dragon

Il Sodoma painted this Saint George and the Dragon around 1518 for the National Gallery of Art. The dramatic subject of the mounted knight slaying the dragon allowed Sodoma to combine his Leonardesque figure painting with the dynamic action and rich narrative detail that characterized his best work. The oil medium allowed for rich tonal transitions and glazed layers of color that created luminous depth impossible with the older tempera technique. Such devotional panels served both liturgical contexts in churches and chapels and private devotional use in the homes of wealthy families who maintained personal altars and oratories.

The panel demonstrates Sodoma's Leonardesque softness of modeling combined with dramatic compositional energy, presenting the heroic confrontation with the warm Sienese coloring and elegant figure drawing that define his mature style.