Saint George
1469/82
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/sheet: 8.5 × 8.5 cm (3 3/8 × 3 3/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
3922
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Schongauer depicted Saint George in two formats: rectangular (below) and circular. The compositions differed dramatically. For the rectangular print, the saint bears down on top of the beast from the left, as the princess waits on the hill above for deliverance. In the more intimate roundel, George has already wounded his prey. Reeling backward into the curve of the circular plate mark, the dragon clasps the broken end of the lance as if it were an engraver’s burin.
About the Artist
Martin Schongauer · 1435–1491
Martin Schongauer, born around 1450–1453 in Colmar, Alsace, emerged from a family of skilled artisans. The third of four or five sons of goldsmith Caspar Schongauer, who had relocated from Augsburg to Colmar around 1440, Martin was immersed in the goldsmith's trade from youth, likely receiving his initial training in his father's workshop—a common path for early engravers. He further honed his ski...