Saint Sebastian (c. 1600–1620): Art, History and Details

Saint Sebastian (c. 1600–1620) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

An early Christian saint and martyr, Sebastian was condemned to death by the Roman emperor Diocletian. Bound to a tree and shot with arrows, he survived—only later to be martyred by beating. This figure embodies the blend of stylistic influences that characterized German sculpture in the early 1600s. The graceful pose and anatomical naturalism of the legs indicate the influence of Italian Mannerism, while the crisp, stylized patterns of Sebastian’s hair and loincloth recall German Gothic works from the 1400s. The tree to which Sebastian is bound is an actual branch, shaped and refined to its present appearance.

Object facts

• Title: Saint Sebastian
• Date: c. 1600–1620
• Culture: Germany, early 17th century
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: painted and gilded wood
• Dimensions: Overall: 139.5 x 54.6 x 45.1 cm (54 15/16 x 21 1/2 x 17 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Sculpture
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1980.41

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Gilardoni, Virgilio, Giancarlo Vigorelli, and Gino Cerastico. Presenze d'arte in Ticino dal XV al XVIII secolo: da collezioni private e pubbliche : [mostra], 1 settembre-4 novembre 1979, [Lugano], Villa Malpensata. Lugano: Rassegna internazionale delle arti e della cultura, 1979.
• "La Chronique des Arts." Gazette des Beaux-Arts, supplement (Mars 1981): 1-76.
• Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1980." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 68, no. 6 (1981): 163-219.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.