Saint George and the Dragon

The composition of this picture is closely related to a drawing by Rosa of Saint George and the Dragon in the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, no. 335. It has been suggested that this drawing 'is perhaps an early, very baroque conception of the theme which became acutely more classicized in the ... drawing which shows the saint seated' (see M. Mahoney, The Drawings of Salvator Rosa, London, 1977, I, p. 709). The drawing of the saint seated relates to the picture in the Giovanelli Collection, Venice, that Ozzola identified with a picture of the saint mentioned in a letter of 1668 (see L. Ozzola, Pitture di Salvator Rosa sconosciute o inedite, Bolletino d'Arte, v, 1925, pp. 29, 36), as does Salerno (see L. Salerno, L'Opera Completa di Salvator Rosa, Milan, 1975, no. 212, p. 101). However, the sense of movement in the present picture would seem to have little in common with the static pose of the Giovanelli picture.

Closer not only in mood but also in composition are elements of the pictures of Jason and the Dragon, for example, in the handling of the saint's front arm and helmet. Wallace theorized that the Jason pictures could have been preceded by the Beaux-Arts drawing, which 'then possibly played a role in a later Saint George picture, the identity of which remains unclear' (see R. Wallace, The Etchings of Salvator Rosa, Princeton, 1979, no. 118e, p. 312).