Today we are pleased to present to you an extraordinary painting of the Flemish school, created with oil technique on canvas. The artwork dates back to 1681 and was created by Flemish painter Godfried Maes.
Created as a painting preparatory to the monumental altar visible at the Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. In the vertical extension, the painting depicts the martyrdom of the saint, and the composition is much richer in figures than the final version from 1681.
Against the backdrop of monumental architecture referenced by the pediment, the dome on the right side, and an impressive twisted column with a base on the left, the central composition features Saint George, called to renounce the Christian faith under threat of beheading, which was threatened by a soldier armed with a sword on the right. In front of them, a boy with a censer. Soldiers and various figures animate the dynamic composition and support the scene. Among them, in the lower left corner, we see a mother with a child, specifically the virtue of Mercy, depicted here as a young woman breastfeeding, with Emperor Diocletian in the background holding a bundle, symbolizing the power of Rome.
Saint George points with his index finger to the upper part of the painting, where on white clouds, Faith triumphs in the crown of saints Peter and Paul, along with a host of angels holding laurel branches as a sign of victory. The theological virtue of Faith, represented by a woman in a helmet, dressed in a white tunic with abundant drapery, triumphantly raises the symbols of the chalice and the Cross, the source and summit of church life. Below, under the virtue of Mercy, signed G.MAES.
The painting is in good condition, consistent with its Baroque date, originating from a private collection. It has been framed and transported in a new frame about twenty years ago. It is clean with minimal artistic retouching, housed in an 18th-century wooden frame with a painted glitter tablet.
Period: 1600
Height: 168 (162) cm
Width: 100 (94) cm
Depth: 5 cm
More details via email: biuro@luxuryproducts.pl
