Reproductie van een prent van de heilige Joris en de draak door Martin Schongauer before 1872

Curator: Oh, goodness! The sheer dynamism packed into such a tiny space! I'm just struck by the energy, it almost vibrates, doesn't it? Editor: Indeed! What you're experiencing is a reproduction of a print dating to before 1872, housed here at the Rijksmuseum. The work depicts Saint George slaying the dragon in an engraving, very likely after the style of Martin Schongauer. Curator: An engraving! That accounts for the insane detail. Those tiny lines, building up such monumental action, that horse practically leaps off the… paper? Oh, what patience they had in the Renaissance! Editor: Schongauer was famous for this very mastery in his handling of line. Now, it's worth noting that such prints served a key purpose back then—reproducing imagery for mass circulation and the spreading of these moral exemplars such as Saint George. Curator: A propaganda tool! And a fabulous one, mind you! Look how serenely saint George sits, lance poised, all calm amidst utter chaos. I wonder about his interior landscape. Did he ever doubt for even an instant the rightness of his quest? Editor: Renaissance artwork often blends that idealism with social anxieties. This particular reproduction also demonstrates the enduring popularity and symbolic significance of the Saint George narrative within European culture, its function serving both the political and spiritual aspirations of the elite, also trickling down into common belief. Curator: You make a point to say "reproduction" often as I recall stories of him being the Saint of chivalry and protector of those afflicted, which seems very important in current cultural conditions. I think perhaps more people know of it from illustrated fairytale books of childhood... but those echoes... faint resonances do still linger. I am drawn to that idea. Editor: Indeed! But, now seeing this piece here, as part of the museum's wider collection is something to remember and understand more of, as well. Museums mediate how the public comes to understand not only images, but the complex networks in which they have traveled over the centuries. Curator: That feels apt. What an epic struggle! Even scaled so diminutive, this captures so vividly the ongoing war within all of us. The dragon within has got to be slayed everyday... or maybe sometimes hugged. Either way! Editor: So apt indeed, closing remarks for us. These subtle encounters can stir within the visitors much needed awareness.