Sankt Georg 1867 - 1870

This is Gustave Moreau's "Sankt Georg," a work on paper held at the Statens Museum for Kunst. Moreau, working in 19th century France, was a symbolist painter preoccupied with mythology and religious themes. Here, St. George is depicted slaying the dragon, a narrative laden with gendered and religious connotations. Traditionally, St. George represents masculine heroism, a knight in shining armor rescuing a damsel from a monstrous threat. But what does it mean to continually represent men as saviors and women as needing to be saved? Moreau's interpretation invites reflection on the power dynamics inherent in such stories. Are these tales reinforcing stereotypes, or can they be reimagined? Is the dragon simply evil, or does it represent something else? The artist once said, "I believe only in what I do not see and solely in what I feel." This piece, therefore, is less about the literal depiction of a myth and more about the emotional and psychological landscape it evokes.