This project has been sponsored by the Boston Chapter of Save Venice

This remarkable altarpiece not only celebrates the patron saints of the Scuola Dalmata—Saint George, Saint Tryphon, and Saint Jerome—but also stands as a lasting testament to the confraternity’s enduring identity. At its center is a rounded polychrome wooden low relief, enriched with gilding, depicting Saint George Fighting the Dragon—by far the most accomplished element of the ensemble. Attributed to Giacomo Moranzon, a member of the bets workshop of woodcarvers in fifteenth-century Venice, the panel unites virtuoso carving with delicate painting to produce a highly refined image that integrates Christian iconography with the language of courtly imagery.

The duel unfolds within a foreboding landscape strewn with bones and skulls, a stark reminder of the dragon’s reign of terror. Against this macabre setting, George’s magnificent steed is depicted with its forelegs suspended in mid-air as the saint thrusts his lance with decisive force—entering the monster’s gaping, horrific jaws and emerging through the nape. The once-ferocious dragon is here divested of its menace: its poisonous breath extinguished, its flattened ears signaling submission and defeat. To the left, the fortified city of Selene anchors the scene, its walls populated by the king and queen, who raise their hands in prayerful witness to the Christian knight’s triumph and the salvation of their daughter. This juxtaposition of violence and divine deliverance not only heightens the drama of the composition but also underscores the moral and theological message of the saint’s victory over evil.

This beautiful round panel originally adorned the coffered ceiling of the Scuola’s ground floor, the so-called Chapel of Saint George. This was the first space renovated by the confraternity following their move into the building in 1451. Archival records reveal that between 1552 and 1555 the Scuola invested 750 ducats to construct a new polychrome ceiling, at the center of which it is believed was placed Moranzon’s Saint George Fighting the Dragon. Significantly, this sculptural relief may have served as a source of inspiration for Vittore Carpaccio, who in 1502 installed on the wall of this very room his celebrated masterpiece on the same theme (currently under restoration by Save Venice), commemorating the donation of the precious relic of Saint George to the Scuola, on April 24.

In 1551, on the centenary of its foundation, the Scuola initiated an ambitious campaign to renovate its building. The ground floor was restructured, the slab raised, and the earlier polychrome ceiling dismantled. Fortunately, given the exceptional quality of its carving, Moranzon’s panel was preserved and repurposed as the centerpiece of the second-floor altarpiece. There, it was integrated into a more elaborate wooden structure: the lower section flanked by reliefs of the Scuola’s other patron saints—Saint Jerome on the left and Saint Tryphon on the right—and surmounted by a depiction of the Annunciation. This ensemble, together with its richly ornamental frame of gilded Corinthian columns and a broken-line tympanum crowned by a sculpture of God the Father, was likely completed by 1568, when the renovation of the hall was brought to conclusion.

The conservation plan involves a biocidal treatment to eliminate an active infestation of wood-boring insects, as evidenced by exit holes on the horse and accumulations of wood dust. Structural stabilization will be achieved by consolidating panel joints and the connections between the architectural elements of the frame, and by securing areas where lifting has occurred. This will be followed by careful surface cleaning and the reintegration of altered pictorial retouches from earlier interventions, carried out in accordance with the existing chromatic and material conditions. The process will conclude with the application of a protective final varnish, designed to ensure long-term preservation while safeguarding the integrity of the polychrome surface.

Giacomo Moranzon (active 1413-1467) [attr.]
Saint George Fighting the Dragon
c. 1452-1455, carved wood with gilding and polychrome decoration

Unidentified woodcarver (16th century)
Frame and carved corners
1568, carved wood with gilding and polychrome decoration
230 x 180 cm

Conn, Melissa and Gabriele Matino. La facciata della Scuola Dalmata: storia e restauri. In Basso, Amalia Donatella, ed. Riflessioni e ricordi d’arte per Emanuela Zucchetta. Verona: Cierre Grafica, 2025, pp. 119-132

Zucchetta, Emanuela. “La pala d’altare lignea raffigurante San Giorgio e il drago nella Scuola dei Santi Giorgio e Trifone.” In Scuola Dalmata dei SS. Giorgio e Trifone, 52, 1 (2007): 10-16