Oval painting of a bearded muscular nude man wrestling a winged dragon while a child clings to him, on a dark background with a scalloped gold border.

Mythological Scene with a Muscular Man and a Dragon

An oval painting shows a muscular, nude bearded man seated on a rocky ledge, grasping a dragon's neck while a small child clings to his side. The dragon, with wings and a coiled tail, rears in dark, shadowy surroundings, and the scene is framed by a decorative scalloped border.

Artist: Unidentified (Italian)
Date: 18th century
Medium: oil on wood
Source: Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum)
Size: 3000 × 2283 px

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Public domain · Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum) releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1800).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian American Art Museum

18th century mythology dragon figure group mythological scene italian painting fantasy oval painting oil on wood bearded figure dark background