St. George Slays the Dragon

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This woodcut with gold leaf was done by the German artist Lucas Cranach (Kranach) the Elder, who lived from 1472 to 1553. It shows the Christian Saint George killing the dragon, also used as symbolism for the triumph of Protestantism over the Pope, the recognized head of the Roman Catholic Church. George is said to have served under the Roman emperor Diocletian in the third century but, because he would not convert from Christianity to the gods of the Romans, he was killed. In myth, he is said to have killed a dragon that was harrassing the city of Silene in modern Libya. In gratitude, the citizens of Silene convert from paganism to Christianity.

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Size: 3539px × 5271px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: artist, catholic, christianity, church, cranach, diolcetian, dragon, elder, george, german, gods, history, killing, kranach, libya, lucas, martyr, paganism, protestantism, roman, silene, slays, st., woodcut