by a guild (the Corazzai--the Armorer's guild) and depicts its patron saint. The marble original (now in the Bargello) was replaced in later centuries with this bronze copy. There is some irony in this, for as H. W. Janson notes, "the armorers, as a lesser guild, were not permitted to have a bronze statue in their tabernacle" (26). The original work probably displayed bronze military equipment,
such as a helmet (there are drill holes in the original head) and weapons (a lance or sword in the cavity of the right hand which has a clenched grip--now holding nothing). As further evidence, the St. George depicted in the relief below is fully armored. While not as emotional as some of Donatello's works, St. George, in spite
of his young delicate face, has a slightly furrowed brow, an alert and intense gaze (as if anticipating danger), and a self-assured and rigid stance.
The architecture behind the maiden is probably not in correct geometrical perspective.
Donatello does, however, convey a sense of distance nonetheless. Note, for example,
the low relief trees in the background.
