Raffaello - inv 530 E

A pen-and-ink drawing depicting a knight in full armor mounted on a rearing horse, raising a sword to strike a winged dragon. The dragon is coiled beneath the horse's hooves, while a human skull lies in the foreground as a reminder of the beast's lethality. The composition is highly dynamic, characterized by the swirling lines of the knight's cloak and the dragon's serpentine tail.

The motif of the knight slaying the dragon serves as a powerful Renaissance allegory for the victory of the rational soul and divine virtue over chaotic, material impulses. This theme of psychological and spiritual struggle resonates with Neoplatonic ideas regarding the soul's triumph over the 'bestial' aspects of human nature.