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The Virgin and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot and George

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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This puzzling painting seems to be a picture in two halves. At the top the Virgin and Child embrace in a gilded sunburst. Below, Saint Anthony Abbot rings his bell and glowers at an elegant knight. This is Saint George, dressed in fifteenth-century armour, and a stylish straw hat – a contemporary French fashion. His emblem of the dragon curls around his legs, snarling at Anthony’s boar.

This is the only surviving signed work by Pisanello and one of only four panel paintings that are certainly by him. We don't know who this painting was made for, though Pisanello was a court painter and worked for various Italian noble families. It was always a single panel and its small scale suggests it was intended for private enjoyment.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Virgin and Child with Saints Anthony Abbot and George

Date

about 1435-41

Medium

Egg tempera on poplar

Measurements

H 46.5 x W 29 cm

Accession number

NG776

Acquisition method

Presented by Lady Eastlake in memory of Sir Charles Eastlake, 1867

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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