Saint George slaying the dragon - Gothic Revival

The neo-Gothic style is the result of two centuries of advances and collective events which together contributed to bring the Middle Ages and its artistic productions up to date. From this fertile ground, the artists shaped a dream common to the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, that of a Middle Ages of emotions, fantasized, embodying ideals of nobility and courtesy. This dream is then invested on the scale of reality by the elites of the nineteenth century who commission works echoing it. Our work is one of them.
Sculpted with virtuosity, this Saint George is more of a luxury item than a support for devotion. By its typology, this creation presents itself as a reference to the sumptuous groups of boxwood carved in the Netherlands in the 16th century, which depict the story of Saint George and which meet at the end of the 18th and 19th centuries a considerable success among European collectors (cf. Victoria & Albert Museum, A.41-1954).
At the time, this episode was particularly appreciated by artists, perfectly synthesizing the neo-Gothic taste for the fantastic bestiary and for chivalrous subjects. It is therefore not surprising to find equivalent creations to our boxwood in ivory, carved around the years 1850-1860 (cf. Wallace Collection, inv. S256; Toledo Museum of Art, 69.296).

H. 20 cm.
H. (with pedestal) : 30 cm.