Saints and Dragons

This exhibition comprises 160 extraordinary works of religious, historical, and artistic importance—rare icons and extraordinary artifacts that rarely leave the collections of The British Museum, London, and the Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, Mass.

An icon is an image of a holy person or event, created by an iconographer who follows the strict standards of the Orthodox Church. They are typically sanctified and blessed by a priest. To the Orthodox believer, icons are more than religious art. They are holy objects.

If the Mother of God is the most common image in the exhibition, the most popular saint would be Saint George. He was a young Roman soldier who rose quickly through ranks and used his military travels to spread Christianity. This was illegal in the early 300s AD, and generals and the governor used both bribes and torture to get him to renounce his faith. Saint George’s refusal—and subsequent execution—made him a venerated paragon of faith and strength for centuries. The legend of his slaying a dragon did not appear until centuries after his death.