Early 20th Century St. George Slaying the Dragon Icon Tempera Painting on Wood Panel

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Large Icon Showing St. George Slaying the Dragon Tempera and gold leaf Painting on Wood panel
This captivating hand-painted religious … Read more Large Icon Showing St. George Slaying the Dragon Tempera and gold leaf Painting on Wood panel
This captivating hand-painted religious icon depicts the legendary image of St. George slaying the dragon, a powerful symbol of faith triumphing over evil. Greek Eastern Orthodox in origin, this icon was created using traditional egg tempera and gold leaf techniques on a gessoed wooden surface.
The art is painted on a wooden panel that is 15" H x 12" W x 1” D.
The back is wired and ready to hang.
Icon Expert Sir Dr. Richard Temple has given me his opinion on the icon: “this is likely to be a modern work, a pastiche, imitating the style of the late Cretan School or the Ionian islands School of around 1700”.
Sir Dr. Richard Temple has an icon for sale with similar attributes and subject matter. He explains the art with the following description:
Saint George is dressed in armour and mounted on a charger. With a steadfast movement he thrusts his spear through the mouth of the dragon. The icon eliminates the other narrative elements of the legend (i.e. the rescuing of Elisaba, the daughter of the pagan king of Selena in Libya, from the dragon), and instead focuses on the main action of the warrior George pinning down his adversary - a symbol of the triumph of spiritual warfare, which is an Eastern monastic concept found in the Philokalia, but which can be traced to the New Testament epistles of St Paul. For example, the apostle encourages one to 'put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil' (Eph. 6:11). He then explicates this metaphor by applying spiritual concepts to the individual vestments of a warrior:
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God... (Eph. 6: 14-17)
This important theme that became central to monastic identity can be understood as the hidden meaning that underpins the iconography of St George and the Dragon.
The style of the current version encapsulates the dramatic tension of the event. This is particularly notable in the depiction of the mountains that rise diagonally on either side of the panel, behind the main action, creating a crescendo-like energy and drama to the work. A comparable Greek icon of the same subject, though of a slightly later date, is in the collection of Demetrios Ekonomopoulos.

Provenance: I purchased this art at auction from a woman who originally purchased it in a shop in New York in the 1990s that specialized in antique Eastern Orthodox Art. I do not know the date of creation. See less