This icon clearly illustrates the impact Western European art had on painting. While the overall composition, George atop a horse slaying the dragon beneath him, remains the same as earlier icons, gone is any semblance of the traditional “old” style. In this icon the overall style would best be described as Rococo. The entire image is overlaid with a heavily repoussé silver riza with attached halo embellished with paste stones and cabochons. Only the “flesh” of the icon, the face and hands, are exposed. The oval enameled title plaque in the upper right corner identifies the subject as “The Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious.” The riza is hallmarked Moscow, dated 1844, and bears the Cyrillic maker’s mark GE.
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