Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1470)

Saint George and the Dragon (c. 1470)

The eye in the storm gathering on the right of Saint George is lined up with his spear showing there has been divine intervention. Uccello uses the lance to emphasize the angle from which Saint George attacks the dragon, helping to establish a three-dimensional space. The strange patches of grass illustrate Uccello's obsessive concern with linear perspective and his tendency to create decorative pattern.1Paolo UccelloBorn as Paolo di Dono in Pratovecchio in 1397, he was given the nickname Uccello due to his fondness for painting birds. Paolo worked in the Late Gothic tradition, and emphasized color and pageantry rather than the Classical realism that other artists were pioneering. At the age of ten, he was apprenticed to the famous sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, at whose workshop he met his lifelong friend Donatello. After establishing himself as an artist and joining the painters guild, he traveled to Venice in 1425 and spent a few years doing commissions, later returning to Florence where he spent the rest of his life.The Battle of San Romano(c.14351460)

Niccol da Tolentino, with his large gold and red patterned hat, is seen leading the Florentine cavalry. He had a reputation for recklessness, and doesn't even wear a helmet, though he sent two messengers (the departure of the two messengers, depicted centre, top) to tell his allied army of Attendolo to hurry to his aid as he is facing a superior force. In the foreground, broken lances and a dead soldier are carefully aligned, so as to create an impression of perspective. 3