Saint George

work by Donatello

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

Donatello's Saint George is a marble sculpture created around 1415 for the church of Orsanmichele in Florence. It depicts Saint George, an early Christian martyr and Roman soldier, who became an ideal of martial valor and selflessness during the Middle Ages.1234

The sculpture is notable for its realistic portrayal of the human body as a functional organism and its confident expression of personality, marking a departure from medieval art. Donatello also created a relief panel, Saint George Killing the Dragon, using a technique called schiacciato (flattened out) to create a sense of atmospheric space. The legend of Saint George slaying a dragon is a popular theme in art, though historical details of his life are scarce.234

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Donatello
Early career
Mark and St. George (both completed c. 1415), for niches on the exterior of Orsanmichele, the church of Florentine guilds (St. George has been replaced by a copy; the original is now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello). Here, for the first time since Classical antiquity and…
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Mark and St. George (both completed c. 1415), for niches on the exterior of Orsanmichele, the church of Florentine guilds (St. George has been replaced by a copy; the original is now in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello). Here, for the first time since Classical antiquity and…
Read More