The Horseman of the Seal of Ivan III: Sources of Visual Image

Abstract

The article analyzes the image of a rider defeating a dragon on the front side of the seal of Ivan III of the 1490s. This image has a number of characteristic features, including a special method of sitting on a horse and holding a spear. These features are not characteristic of the old Russian art of the XV century, however, they find analogues in the works of art of the Italian Quattrocento. They go back to the ancient tradition of depicting a horseman armed with a spear, which Renaissance masters could get acquainted with by the example of the monumental monuments of Rome. Thus, the master of the seal of Ivan III could belong to the Florentine-Roman art school, and perhaps it was the Roman master Christopher mentioned in the chronicles.