Saint George and the Dragon

John Ihle

This early-career print by John Ihle is exemplary of the Abstract printmaking boom of post-war America, in which the convergence of the modern genres and techniques flourished under a young and vibrant adherent, ready for a changed future. In its angular physicality and deeply engraved lines, “Saint George and the Dragon” exhibits the influence of his teachers and leading printmakers of the day, many of them students of Stanley William Hayter’s Atelier 17 - including Ihle's early teacher in Iowa, Mauricio Lasansky.

Ihle would go on to become more experimental in his compositions, creating more subtle, tonal, non-representational works, but here we see him mastering the tools. In this way, coincidentally, he compliments the powerful visual narrative of one of mythology’s most storied battles.

Regarding the legend of Saint George and the Dragon New York's 'Saint George's Society' notes: "The myth of Saint George slaying the dragon originated in stories of his valiance and bravery brought back by the Crusaders who learned of him during the Middle Ages.

Legend has it that George arrived upon a village where a dragon was terrorizing the local people. To appease the creature, they had begun to sacrifice a sheep per day to feed its hunger until they no longer had any sheep. The King then decreed that they must sacrifice the local children to keep the dragon at bay. Each day, the sacrifice was chosen by lottery until the King’s daughter was selected. As she was being led to the dragon, George happened by. Horrified by what he discovered, he offered to slay the dragon. During his battle with the dragon, George noticed a vulnerable patch of skin under its arm and charged forward with his sword, slaying the beast."