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Lot Essay
For the more humble and popular medium of the woodcut Dürer chose the traditional depiction of the Saint George - in battle with the dragon - rather than the more modern variant he chose for his two engravings of the same subject (see the two previous lots).
Cut around the same time as the Large Horse and Small Horse (lots 64 & 65), Dürer again demonstrates his interest in and mastery of equine subjects. Here Dürer concentrated on the central group of horse, rider and dragon, while the background and middleground are treated in a rather cursory fashion. The print has been criticised for this reason, but it is precisely this simplification, and the resulting contrast of the white horse against the almost solid black background that gives this modest-sized woodcut its monumental quality.
Cut around the same time as the Large Horse and Small Horse (lots 64 & 65), Dürer again demonstrates his interest in and mastery of equine subjects. Here Dürer concentrated on the central group of horse, rider and dragon, while the background and middleground are treated in a rather cursory fashion. The print has been criticised for this reason, but it is precisely this simplification, and the resulting contrast of the white horse against the almost solid black background that gives this modest-sized woodcut its monumental quality.