Attributed to the circle of Michel Pacher, Tyrol, circa 1500

hollow back, in armour with a cloak fastened at the neck and carved with deep undulating folds to his right side, right hand raised formerly holding a sword, a shield beside him, the struggling dragon at his feet

Ch. Mège Collection Paris, illustrated in Les Arts, February 1909, p.16
Galerie A S.Drey, Munich
Forced sale 17 July 1936, Graupe Berlin, lot 119, sold for DM 5,400
Hermann Göring Collection (1936-1945) - listed in the 1945 inventory of the Hermann Göring Art Museum, Sculpture Room 2, article 18
Federal Republic of Germany on loan to the Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, listed as Simon Luchsperger (?)
Restituted to the heirs of A.S.Drey, July 2003

St. George was one of the most venerated saints in the Middle Ages at the height of the Gothic Period. He was a particularly popular saint in Southern Germany, Austria and the Tyrol where many artists were itinerant thus making stylistic attributions difficult. This polychrome limewood group was intended for mounting against a wall or as part of an altar and although hollow at the back, the deeply carved billowing cloak appears to spread behind the saint’s back making the figure appear as if almost carved in the round. The young saint is in late Gothic armour of a kind used in Southern Germany and Austria between 1480 and 1510 and stands with a pronounced S-shaped pose with one foot in front of the other almost like a dancer. In addition to this pose and the distinctive function of the drapery the elaborate treatment to the hair and the facial features have much in common with works by the Salzburg Master Michael Pacher (active 1460’s-1498) and his circle.

The Galerie A.S.Drey in Munich was founded by Aaron Drey (1813-1891) who when he died left a flourishing art business with a world wide recognition. By 1907 a branch of the company had opened in Paris with several following closely behind: New York, London, Brussels and the Hague. The main premises in Munich on the Max Josef Strasse opened in 1912 was designed in Italian Renaissance style with a rich terracotta façade made at the Nymphenburg porcelain factory. In October 1936 the business was "aryanised" and the works of art auctioned in a forced sale. This Late Gothic figure was restituted to the heirs of AS Drey in July 2003.

RELATED LITERATURE
E.Hempel, Michael Pacher, Vienna 1931, pls.10-11