Paolo Uccello, St. George and the Dragon 326 by Andy Warhol is one of four screenprints from his 1984 reinterpretation of Paolo Uccello’s Renaissance masterpiece. Warhol tightly crops the original composition, isolating the young woman and the dragon while omitting St. George himself. In this variation, a fiery background of burnt orange, amber, and deep crimson surrounds the scene. Meanwhile, the dragon’s wing shifts to rich violets with vivid orange accents, while its curling horn glows emerald green. The pale profile of the maiden stands in sharp contrast, creating a dramatic balance between light and darkness.
A Renaissance Master Reimagined
Paolo Uccello, St. George and the Dragon 326 belongs to Warhol’s Details of Renaissance Paintings series, which revisits celebrated masterpieces through the visual language of Pop Art. Rather than reproducing the complete painting, Warhol enlarges a single detail. He then transforms it with bold synthetic color. Consequently, the familiar medieval narrative becomes an exploration of shape, color, and composition. To learn more about the series, read our feature article, Warhol’s Renaissance Redux: A Modern Gaze on Timeless Masterpieces.
St. George and the Dragon 326 in Warhol’s Larger Body of Work
Throughout his career, Warhol reimagined familiar images through repetition, cropping, and unexpected color. He approached Renaissance painting much as he approached celebrities and consumer products. Moreover, by removing St. George from the composition, he redirects attention toward the relationship between the maiden and the dragon. As a result, the scene becomes less about heroic victory and more about visual tension. Warhol preserves Uccello’s elegant drawing while giving it an unmistakably contemporary presence.
Other works from Warhol’s Renaissance series include The Birth of Venus, The Annunciation, and Madonna del Duca da Montefeltro.
Photo credit: Artwork that inspired Warhol by Paolo Uccello titled St. George and the Dragon, c. 1470. Courtesy of the National Gallery in London.
