“Saint George” (1513 – 1515, Los Angeles, Getty Museum), the patron saint of the city of Ferrara, is not portrayed while fighting the dragon, but in the act of his victory, after having defeated the beast. Dosso Dossi paints Saint George with his face strained for the fight but, in the meantime, he wants to highlight his heroism: the dying dragon (the evil) surrenders in front of the force of the faith and of the Christ sacrifice, represented by the red crosses on Saint George scepter.

Copyrighted image: “Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Opens Content Program”.