St George

St George and the Boy of Mytilene

I've got St George on my mind rather a lot at the moment, and not because of all the military bands and Boy Scouts we had parading up and down for St George's day a couple of weeks back. They've got him all wrong: St George (whose cult was brought to Britain from Syria in the middle ages) and the other warrior saints such as Theodore and Demetrios, are all about the cosmic spiritual battle - nothing to do with England or Harry at all. Usually St George appears in icons standing in full armour or spiking dragons, but this icon which I was commissioned to make last year is an unusual protrayal known as St George and the boy/youth of Mytilene. The rescued boy is seated behind George on his charger offering him a glass of wine - or in some accounts of the legend, a cup of coffee.

​I am also currently working on the restoration of a big St George icon (dragon and princess this time) a project which I took on in a fit of rash enthusiasm and which I don't mind admitting is giving me a packet of trouble. Fortunately (as I am not a conservator) it is worth nothing either artistically or monetarily: it has sentimental value to the owner, who found it in a junk yard sale, because it reminds him of his Serbian heritage. It is a curious item: it seems to have been cast in resin from the riza on some old icon, complete with nail heads and tack holes. A riza (sometimes oklad, Russian) or revetment is an embossed metal cover made to protect a precious icon from candle smoke and the kisses of the faithful. The embossing echoes the painted design underneath and only the hands and faces of the saint peep out from the cover. I found some examples on line - one a 19th century version in plaster, and another which is copyright. This copy had been sprayed gold and paper prints of faces and hands pasted on the top. A few damp years in a garage, and they had peeled off completely. I am trying to replace them with something a little worthier than paper cut-outs, using gesso on balsa wood and a great deal of ingenuity. St George has also had a respray, silver this time at the client's request, and now he looks like the King of Bling. I can recommend Plasticote Brilliant Metallic spray paints, they really are remarkably convincing.

Courtauld Institute standards it is not, but I hope to turn it into something the client wants to hang in his home. Look back in a while for the faces.  And before anyone else asks - no, I do not do restorations.

St George with paper face and hands

Resin icon : before

St George in progress