Pisanello

  • The Virgin and Child with Saints George and Anthony Abbot

  • The Virgin and Child with Saints George and Anthony Abbot

  • (mid 1400s), egg tempera on poplar
  • 18.3 X 11.4 in. (46.5 x 29 cm.)
  • National Gallery, London
  • 463 x 750 (83 Kb)

Editor’s Note:

This is Pisanello's only signed panel painting. This work, exceptional both for its elegance and its naturalism, shows the two saints in a landscape with the Virgin and Child above them, clothed with the sun.

Pisanello lovingly crafted the robes of Saint Anthony and the armor of Saint George, reflecting the court fashions of the period. Anthony's companion pig lays at his feet, giving a curious sniff to George's vanquished dragon.