St. George killing the dragon with four saints around an archway

WAG 1995.81

Information

In this quick sketch, St. George on horseback is seen killing the dragon, although the dragon's shape is not clearly delineated. Following an attribution written beneath the drawing by a previous, unknown, Italian collector, William Roscoe believed that this drawing was by the Bolognese painter and printmaker Pietro Faccini (about 1562 - 1602). Faccini trained with and later became a rival to the Carracci family's Academy. Roscoe would have known about this relatively obscure artist with a shortlived career because he owned a copy of Carlo Cesare Malvasia's book 'Felsina Pittrice' published in 1678, which provided biographies of Bologna's artists up to that date. The current attribution to a follower of Veronese was not made until the 20th century.