German or Flemish school; 16th century.

German or Flemish school; 16th century.
“Saint George.”
Patinated bronze.
Measurements: 47 x 19 x 8 cm,
In this sculpture, Saint George is depicted standing upright over the fallen body of the dragon, with his sword raised in his right hand and his shield held in his left, in a composition that focuses all the narrative tension on the moment of victory. His attire, consisting of late-Gothic-inspired plate armor, chain mail, and an open helmet, gives the figure a distinctly chivalric presence and places it within the sculptural tradition of Northern Europe, where depictions of warrior saints became widespread during the 15th and 16th centuries.
An artistic precedent of particular interest for contextualizing this work is the Crucifixion Altarpiece, created by Jacques de Baerze and Melchior Broederlam for the Carthusian Abbey of Champmol, near Dijon, commissioned by Philip II of Burgundy, known as Philip the Bold. The sculptural portion was executed by De Baerze, while Broederlam was responsible for the polychromy and gilding. The ensemble was moved to Dijon in 1392 and was completed in 1399. Housed at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, with inventory number CA 1420 A, it is one of the most important examples of sculpture and altarpiece decoration in the Southern Netherlands during the late 14th century. On its side doors, the sculptural program includes various figures of saints, among them Saint George, alongside Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Catherine, and Saint Christopher.
A comparison with this altarpiece is particularly significant due to the chivalric conception of the saint and the persistence of an iconography in which armor, weapons, and the dragon define the character’s identity. Although De Baerze’s work belongs to an earlier Gothic context and employs a different technique, it helps us understand the continuity of these models in Northern art and their subsequent adaptation to new materials and formats. It is also worth recalling the famous equestrian depiction of Saint George created by Bernt Notke for Stockholm in the late 15th century, in which the confrontation with the dragon takes on a monumental scale and a distinctly narrative character. In contrast to these compositions, the figure presented here focuses the action on a single standing figure, whose compact, frontal presence reinforces the emblematic nature of the victorious saint.
The iconography of Saint George and the dragon has a long tradition in Christian art. According to legend, the saint—a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity—defeated a creature that threatened a community, becoming a symbol of faith’s victory over evil. During the Middle Ages, this narrative took on special significance in the chivalric imagination, and Saint George came to be venerated as the protector of soldiers, rulers, and military orders. His depiction as an armed warrior, triumphant over the monster, served to simultaneously express religious ideals, courtly virtues, and values associated with the nobility.