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Saint George

Date: 1415 - 1417

Style: Early Renaissance

Genre: sculpture

Media: marble

St George is a marble sculpture by Donatello. It is one of a cycle of fourteen statues of protectors of the arts of Florence. They were sited in external niches on the facade of the Orsanmichele church. The St George was commissioned by the ‘Arte dei Corazzai e Spadai’ corporation. It was too big for its niche, leaving it exposed to the north, and so in the 19th century it was moved into the more sheltered tabernacle of the Madonna della Rosa, left empty since 1628 after that work was moved into the church. A stone thrown at the sculpture in 1858 broke its nose and so since 1891 it has instead been placed in the Bargello Museum in Florence. From 1892 to 2008 a bronze replica was placed in its original niche, to be replaced by a marble replica on 23 April 2008. The original sculpture was stolen from the Villa Medici in Poggio a Caiano, but in May 1945 it was recovered by Frederick Hart in Neumelans and returned to Italy on 20 July 1945. The box base was added back onto the statue in 1976.