Kept Alongside The Plates
Chronicles
Five entries. One for each plate, more or less, and one that is really about the keeping rather than the plate.
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Chronicle I
What the Twelfth Century Believed
A monk seven hundred years dead, entirely wrong about the anatomy and entirely right about the patience.
Plate I — Aberdeen Bestiary, folio 65v -
Chronicle II
Saint George, So Many Times
Nuremberg cut the same scene until it stopped being a scene and became a habit.
Plate II — Dürer, Saint George and the Dragon -
Chronicle III
The Other Slayer
Seven heads, borrowed crowns, and stakes that are at least honestly stated.
Plate III — Dürer, Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon -
Chronicle IV
Before the Fight
Everyone is brave once the beast is already dying. This plate is about the hour before that.
Plate IV — Dürer, Saint George Standing -
Chronicle V
On Keeping These at All
The question I am asked rarely, and the answer I give instead of the true one.
Plate V — Schongauer, Saint George Slaying the Dragon
More will be inscribed as more is worth inscribing. The plates are catalogued separately, without commentary, for those who prefer the object to the opinion.