Northern Russian icon, 18th century. "St. George fighting the dragon". Tempera and levkas on wood.

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OLD MASTERS

By Setdart Auction House

Nov 3, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-11-03 08:00:00 2021-11-03 08:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : OLD MASTERS https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/setdart-auction-house/old-masters-7786
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• Lot Description
  Northern Russian icon, 18th century. "St. George fighting the dragon". Tempera and levkas on wood. It presents small restorations. Measurements: 71 x 54 cm. The icon that occupies us represents St. George saving Elisaba, the daughter of the pagan king of Selena, in Libya, who holds the dragon with a strap and is blessed by the king and the queen who witness the scene. By thrusting his spear into the dragon's mouth, St. George frees the city from its clutches, which were blocking the water supply, as well as Elisaba, who had been chosen as a ransom by the dragon. Two angels crown the saint while Christ blesses him. The legend of St. George is one of the most recurrent passages in Christian literature and iconography. The first mentions of St. George as a martyr appear as early as the 5th century, and are initially limited to a specific territory: Cappadocia (the legend says it was his birthplace), Nicomedia and Diospolis (Lydia). According to the first versions of hagiography, George suffered torture at the hands of the Persian king Dadian; this character was later replaced by the historical figure of Emperor Diocletian. In the period after the iconoclastic period, around the 11th century, to the story of George's numerous tortures is added the developed cycle of miracles. It is believed to have been created mainly among Eastern monastic circles. The most popular of the miracles, "The miracle with the dragon", the one depicted on our icon, in the central square. This legend dates back to the oral tradition of the eighth century; in manuscripts it is not recorded for the first time until the twelfth century. However, these dates may find variations in different historical sources. In Russia, the cult of St. George begins to gain popularity around the 11th century, coinciding with the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. In both Byzantine and Russian Orthodox art, depictions of St. George with hagiographic scenes are quite rare and scarce, compared to other popular saints. The curious detail of the present icon is the central scene, which depicts St. George on horseback slaying the dragon. Only in the early Muscovite tradition, and in the Byzantine tradition itself, in the central scene St. George is depicted standing upright and in full body, in all other interpretations of the scene St. George appears like this, as in the present icon. The symbolism of this particular iconography goes back to early Christian beliefs, which form, practically, the basis of all Christianity, of the struggle between good and evil. This is one of the reasons why the theme of St. George is so recurrent throughout history.
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