Saint George

1506·Engraving in black on tan laid paper·22 × 17.5 cm (8 11/16 × 6 15/16 in.)

<p>Here Saint George is depicted after killing a dragon, the action for which he is best known; the princess he has rescued from the dragon kneels to the left, while a young squire stands next to his master’s horse. The figures occupy an open-air architectural space with a gateway and pinnacled walls. This is the second state of Benedetto Montagna’s engraving; the saint is shown in three-quarter profile, and the princess looks directly at the saint. Benedetto applied diagonal hatching and loose lines, suggesting an interest in the work of Girolamo Mocetto, while the use of heavy highlighting reflects an awareness of Albrecht Dürer’s technique.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1506
Medium: Engraving in black on tan laid paper
Dimensions: 22 × 17.5 cm (8 11/16 × 6 15/16 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Benedetto Montagna

Artist

Benedetto Montagna

Painting

Benedetto Montagna was an Italian engraver and painter. Montagna was born in Vicenza, the son of the leading painter of the city, Bartolomeo Montagna, with whom he trained and perhaps continued to work. His approximately 53 engravings seem to have been produced in the period from about 1500 until his father died in 1523 and he inherited the workshop; in these years he was "the most prolific engraver of his generation in northern Italy". He ran the workshop into at least the 1540s, but his paintings fell behind the development of Italian styles as they largely follow his father's style, less successfully. Many do not survive. His prints are generally found more significant by art historians.

Vicenza

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