Saint Margaret and the Dragon

On 11 October 1552 Titian wrote to Philip of Spain, who at that point was still only a prince, the heir of the emperor Charles the Fifth. A year or so earlier, in Augsburg, Titian had painted Philip's portrait in armour, and in this letter he mentions a Saint Margaret he had made for him. This canvas is identified with that picture. It shows the moment from the legend when the young saint, swallowed by a dragon, bursts free holding up a small cross. Philip became king in 1556, and in 1563 he began building the vast monastery of El Escorial outside Madrid. The painting was sent there in 1574 and has never left. Its surface is badly worn today, which makes it hard for specialists to say how much of it is Titian's own hand and how much his workshop's.