Saint George the Victorious
THE ICON SHOWN
- AUTHOR
- Anastasia Kaplii
- YEAR
- 2024
- MATERIALS
- Egg tempera, natural mineral pigments, gold
- TECHNIQUE
- Translucent layering with fine painterly strokes
- TRADITION
- Early Russian icon painting, inspired by the legacy of Andrei Rublev
- ORIGIN OF THE IMAGE
- Early Christian and Byzantine tradition. The author of the original image is unknown.
ABOUT THE IMAGE
The victory of good over evil
Saint George the Victorious is an image of courage, steadfastness and the victory of good over evil. Church tradition places his martyrdom at the beginning of the fourth century, during the persecutions under the Emperor Diocletian. The famous image of George on a white horse, striking the serpent with his spear, acquired a deep symbolic meaning — the victory of faith over evil and fear. People pray to Saint George for protection from danger, for courage and for help in trials.
Veneration of George spread in the early Christian era after his martyrdom, traditionally dated to the beginning of the fourth century. At first the saint was depicted as a martyr and a warrior. The famous equestrian composition “The Miracle of George and the Dragon” took shape later and became widespread in Byzantine and early Russian art.
LETTER
The face is painted last. By that point nothing can be changed — neither the colour of the robes, nor the turn of the head, nor the gold behind the shoulders.
Gold here is neither ornament nor background. It is a refusal of space: the figure stands in no room, in no landscape.
An icon is not painted for a museum. It is placed at home, at eye level — and looked at for years.