SCUOLA DI S. GIORGIO DEGLI SCHIAVONI, Carpaccio's Paintings

Carpaccio's painted scenes completely cover three of the room's walls: get ready to enter a fairy tale.

I suggest starting on the left, with the scene that drives the entire painting cycle: Saint George Piercing the Dragon. The legendary undertaking takes place in a landscape that is both poetic and desolate: in the foreground, you see the macabre remains of the young men who've been the most recent meal of the monstrous dragon with a twisted tail. To the right, behind the heroic knight, you can see the princess who was about to be devoured: the saint has just saved her life.

This outdoor scene is followed by two in which Carpaccio shows you his skill in inventing imaginary cities. In one you can see St. George carrying the defeated dragon into the city Selene, among the crowd's festivities and commotion; on the back wall, to the left of the altar, you can see the saint baptizing King Aio and the queen of Libya.

To the right of the altar there's an interesting "horror" scene dedicated to Saint Tryphon, who as a child was already able to make a repugnant creature leave the body of an emperor's daughter. The monster really seems like an ancestor of modern-day cartoons!

The wall is completed by two smaller scenes inspired by the Gospel (Matthew's vocation and Oration in the Garden), perhaps the first works Carpaccio did for the Schiavoni School....