Die Madonna des heiligen Georg

Correggio finished this altarpiece around 1530 for a confraternity in Modena, a brotherhood of laymen who met at the oratory of San Pietro Martire. It was admired almost at once for the softness of its light. The Madonna and child sit under a leafy dome while four saints stand around them, each with a clue to who he is. On the left, Geminianus, patron of Modena, holds a little model of the city. Beside George rests the severed head of the dragon he killed, and three small putti play with his sword and helmet. Peter Martyr, the confraternity's own saint, still has the assassin's knife in his skull. The Dukes of Modena later prized the picture enough that in 1746 they sold it to Dresden, where it hangs today.