Saint Margaret and the Dragon
Dublin Core
Description
Titian created Saint Margaret and the Dragon in ca. 1565 and it is currently in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, Spain. Philip II owned two paintings of this saint: one remains of the Escorial, which came in 1574, and the version in the Museo del Prado has better quality and most likely belonged to Mary of Hungary [1]. Saint Margaret and the Dragon is one of Titian's later masterpieces as he has adapted to the religious-themed Renaissance.
Saint Margaret appears in the center of the painting with her left leg in front of the other. It appears as if she is floating in the middle of the painting as well. Titian's painting reminds me of the portrait effect on an iPhone camera because Saint Margaret is clearly present in the center of the artwork and the background around her is blurry. Margaret is wearing an olive green dress over a white shirt with a pinkish scarf around her neck. She is looking down at her right, holding out a cross with her left hand, protecting herself from the black dragon that appears on the right side of the painting. Margaret is a conjurer of beasts because the dragon vaporizes as the cross appears, causing the dragon to explode. The original story portrays that Margaret has been swallowed by the devil, which is in the shape of a dragon, but after she makes the sign of the cross, the creature explodes into many pieces, freeing her and not harming her [2]. Despite the Council of Trent's ban on the representation of such unhistorical events, Titian placed pictorial tradition over ecclesiastical admonitions.
There was more of a sense of context because she is inhabiting the wilderness and the visual background is a reference to Venice prior, a city like St. Christopher. The background of this painting presents a burning city, ultimately Venice burning up. When you zoom in on this painting, you see the fires across the skyline with various buildings and boats in the water. This landscape provides an illusionistic interplay with Venice's view burning in the background and the moon shining over the lagoon. Titian used fire frequently in his paintings even if the fire was not literally described in the painting, such as an explosive force [3]. This painting provides both the fire in the background, depicting Venice prior, and the story of Saint Margaret has the devil explode into several pieces due to the cross she was holding. The distinct blue sky is somewhat present in the background but mostly covered by the smoke from the city below. You also can view the rocky cave on the right side of the painting that holds the dragon and a skull in the lower-left corner.
[1] “Saint Margaret - The Collection.” The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado, 2015. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saint-margaret/d41df4be-0e10-43a1-9ed9-44d8e675a3d8.
[2] Kordecki, Lesley. "Margaret and the Dragon: Lydgate's Adoption of the Apocryphal." Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural 9, no. 1 (2020): 53-75.
[3] Hills, Paul. "Titian's Fire: Pyrotechnics and Representations in Sixteenth-Century Venice." Oxford Art Journal 30, no. 2 (2007): 187-204. (187)
Creator
Source
Kordecki, Lesley. "Margaret and the Dragon: Lydgate's Adoption of the Apocryphal." Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural 9, no. 1 (2020)
“Saint Margaret - The Collection.” The Collection - Museo Nacional del Prado, 2015. https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/saint-margaret/d41df4be-0e10-43a1-9ed9-44d8e675a3d8.
Image Rights: Titian. 1540-1550. Saint Margaret and the Dragon. painting. Place: Museo del Prado, cat. 445.. https://library.artstor.org/asset/LESSING_ART_10310120561.
Publisher
Image Rights: Titian. 1540-1550. Saint Margaret and the Dragon. painting. Place: Museo del Prado, cat. 445.. https://library.artstor.org/asset/LESSING_ART_10310120561.
Image and original data provided by Erich Lessing Culture and Fine Arts Archives/ART RESOURCE, N.Y.
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Rights
Image Rights: Titian. 1540-1550. Saint Margaret and the Dragon. painting. Place: Museo del Prado, cat. 445.. https://library.artstor.org/asset/LESSING_ART_10310120561.
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