Unknown Master St. George and the Stone
18th or 19th century
Fresco
St. George's Chapel, Ljubljana Cathedral, Slovenia
In the fresco on the opposite wall St. George confronts the Emperor Diocletian, denouncing his idoloatry and his cruel persecution of Christians. This fresco illustrates Diocletian's response. At the Emperor's command his servants "take him to the prison, throw him on the ground, shackle his feet, and place an enormous stone on his breast" (Acta Sanctorum, April vol. 3, 118, my translation). The great stone is mentioned in one of the earliest references to St. George's story (ibid., 101), but it did not make it into the Golden Legend. Perhaps for that reason, it is not often pictured in narrative images.
View this image in full resolution.
Read more about St. George.
Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.