The Naked Saint: Barcelona's Astonishing Statue of Saint George

In Barcelona's Sants-Montjuïc district, at Plaça de Sant Jordi, lies an unusual equestrian statue of the city's patron saint, Saint George, renamed 'Mirador del Llobregat' in 1929. Known as Sant Jordi, this piece of public art was created by Josep Llimona and inaugurated in 1924, though the design was originally conceived in 1918.

The Montjuïc urban transformation in the early 20th century paved the way for Sant Jordi's unanticipated introduction in 1924, before the International Exhibition of 1929. The artwork is inscribed as a Local Cultural Asset (BCIL) in the Catalan Cultural Heritage Inventory with the code 08019/1780.

Unlike traditional depictions of Saint George, Sant Jordi is displayed in unclothed form - apart from a faldilla of chain mail around his waist. This unusual choice was inspired by the man who served as the model for the figure of Saint George: Francesc Duran Reynals, a friend and doctor of Llimona.

The statue was originally intended for the International Exhibition of 1929 and was inaugurated on December 30, 1924.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons