French school; XIX century.

French school; XIX century.
"Saint George".
Terracotta.
Presents faults.
Measurements: 42 x 45 x 20 cm.
Sculpture modeled in terracotta representing St. George on his horse killing the demon. The fabulous animal is cornered in the inferior zone between the legs of the horse and the inquisitive lance of the saint. The work moves away from the traditional representation of St. George as a medieval knight and transcends towards an avant-garde language with the naked protagonist without any ornamentation other than his shield and lance, merging with his horse. A fusion that is evident both in the composition that unites in an indivisible way all the characters of this sculptural group, as well as in the technique that shows the tactile workmanship of the artist.
George is a fabulous saint who is considered a native of Cappadocia because of a confusion with another George, an Arian bishop of Alexandria. His legend, which was rejected by the 5th century council as apocryphal, makes him an officer of a Roman legion, which crossed a city terrorized by a dragon that devoured men and animals. To appease the monster's hunger, the peasants gave him two sheep a day. When the livestock ran out, they gave him two young girls chosen by lot. One day the lot fell on the king's daughter. When the young girl was about to be devoured, St. George appeared and pierced the dragon with his lance. According to the Golden Legend, he only wounded the dragon. George asked the princess to knot her belt around the dragon's neck, who followed her everywhere like a little dog on a leash. The saint distributed among the poor the money given to him by the king as a reward. After his victory over the dragon, his death would come.