Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol (b. United States, 1928-1987)

Paolo Uccello, St. George and the Dragon, 1460 (from the series “Details of Renaissance Paintings”), 1984

Screenprint  

Gift of Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs, 2002.031.004

Pop art pioneer Andy Warhol added religious imagery and art historical masterpieces to his subject matter in the 1980s. This print is based on a depiction of the Christian legend of St. George spearing a dragon to save a princess, by Italian painter Paolo Uccello (1397–1475). Warhol crops the composition, alters the color scheme, and eliminates the background to focus on the sharp edges of the dragon’s threatening wing—heightening the sexual tension latent in Renaissance art.