Art Institute of Chicago

Saint George in Armor

Ferdinand Piloty (German, 1785-1844)

Date

n.d.

Medium

Tint lithograph on cream wove paper

Culture

Germany

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The German Romantic artist Ferdinand Piloty looked to Lucas Cranach’s 16th-century woodcut of the full-length Saint George as inspiration for this lithograph. He did not copy the saint directly, showing him reversed, at three-quarter length, and in a shallower space. Yet the halo effect of the lighting, George’s glorious hair, and the implied glint of the intricate armor leave little doubt as to the holy nature of the knight’s errand. Piloty and his colleagues Johann Strixner and Alois Senefelder dramatically fueled the German Romantic enthusiasm for the artistic past, through the creation both of exacting reproductions and nostalgic new works.

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