Francis Fanelli

(c. 1580-1653)

St. George, first half of the 17th cent.

Golden bronze

Museo Schifanoia, inv. OA930

As the horse stands up on its two hind legs turning to the left to avoid the fiery breath of the infernal dragon, a young warrior, armed in the old-fashioned manner, leans out to pierce the hideous beast wriggling in front of him. The gilded bronze with St. George the Dragon by Francesco Fanelli is an extremely elegant Baroque staging of the ancient saving gesture attributed by tradition to the mythological figure of the warrior saint, chosen as the patron saint of the city of Ferrara from the time of Duke Borso. Although the victorious fight against the dragon was chosen by the Este family as a symbol of the efforts the dukes had in reclaiming the territory against unhealthy waters and diseases, devotion and worship were maintained even in the age of the Legations. It is therefore no coincidence that the work, made in the early seventeenth century, had been tracked down on the antiques market and sent to Ferrara by Cardinal Riminaldi for the city museum. As a letter from the prelate dated 1778 testifies, the purchase was made through the Roman sculptor and antiquarian Bartolomeo Cavaceppi, to whom the work was later mistakenly attributed.