Bernardino Lanino St. George and the Dragon

Circa 1546
Fresco
Basilica of St. Ambrose, Milan

This image reconciles the accounts that have St. George kill the dragon with his spear with those that have him strike off its head. Here the spear has broken in two, with one part stuck in the dragon's mouth. As it endeavors to remove the broken spear from its mouth, George prepares to cut off its head. Thus the princess at right is saved.

In images of his slaying the dragon St. George does not always have a shield, but when he does it tends to be emblazoned with a red cross on a white field, like the flag of England. The non-traditional shield in this image may be related to Henry VIII's break with Catholicism in 1532-34.

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Photographed at the basilica by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.