Natalia Goncharova

'St George' from the portfolio 'Images of War

About this artwork

A Christian martyr and the patron saint of Moscow, St George was venerated in Imperial Russia, with two of the highest military decorations named after him (The Order of St George and the Cross of St George). He was therefore a perfect subject to be depicted in the Images of War, a series of patriotic lithographs which used Russian motifs to create images of a victorious Russia on the side of justice in the First World War. Goncharova shows George slaying the dragon, a motif that here can be interpreted as Russia overcoming the Central Powers of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Germany and the Ottoman Empire.

Updated before 2020

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Natalia Goncharova

Natalia Goncharova