About the Work
Once thought to be the work of Giorgione, this life-size, bust-length depiction of a knight is a copy after a painting by Dosso Dossi. The fact that the Städel picture is painted on a panel of Baltic oak suggests that it was made by a Dutch copyist active in the first half of the 16th century. The original did enjoy great popularity in the north and was numerously copied. Some versions remain faithful to Dossi’s work and show a saint, possibly Saint George, in gleaming steel armour set against a dark background. Other versions invest the saint with the features of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and the Order of the Golden Fleece. Although the Städel picture was executed in close imitation of Dossi’s model, the semi-circular upper edge sets it apart from the other surviving versions.
