Matteo Ponzone
Saint George with Saints Jerome and Tryphon
First half of 17th century
Treviso Cathedral
In a starry heaven, the Father sends his blessing on St. George, who is pictured as usual on a white charger dispatching a dragon. The painting omits the traditional red-cross banner and grateful princess.
On the left St. Jerome holds a maquette of a church, an attribute customary in his portraits in Dalmatia and the Veneto. For a time he was an adviser to Pope Damasus I, so his portraits traditionally give him the red vestments of a cardinal.
St. Tryphon was said to have been martyred during the persecutions of Decius circa 259. His vitae in the Acta Sanctorum (November vol. 4, 357-373) recount a large number of miracle cures effected by him. Nothing in them would explain the maquette of a fortress that the saint holds in this painting. In the Middle Ages his feast day was November 10; currently it is February 1.
View this image in full resolution.
Read more about images of St. George.
Read more about images of St. Jerome.
Photographed at the cathedral by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.