Saint Sebastian c.1620-30
Oil on canvas | 56.9 x 48.8 x 1.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external) | RCIN 405562
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Saint Sebastian was a Christian martyr and a very popular subject in painting from the Renaissance onwards. Killed during the Roman Emperor Diocletian's persecution of the Christians in the third century, he is commonly depicted naked, tied to a tree or post and being shot through with arrows. In this painting only the saint's head and shoulders are visible, but he is clearly naked and being tortured as his head is turned up to the left and his eyes are gazing heavenwards.
The design derives from an original composition by Reni in the Prado, Madrid, in which the saint is shown in three-quarter-length in a landscape, with an arrow clearly visible in his torso. A second version of the three-quarter-length composition exists in the Louvre, Paris, but the Prado version is thought to be the original, and dates to around 1617. Various other copies and derivations exist; while the present picture might be only an old copy it seems of some quality and is therefore attributed to the studio of Reni.Provenance
Recorded in the King's Closet at Buckingham House in 1774 (see RCIN 926315) and 1790; probably the St Sebastian attributed to Giacinto Brandi in the 4th Room at Leicester House in 1749, in which case acquired by Frederick, Prince of Wales. The painting appears in Pyne's illustrated Royal Residences of 1819, hanging in the King's Closet at Windsor Castle (RCIN 922104).
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Creator(s)
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
56.9 x 48.8 x 1.5 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
83.5 x 74.5 x 8.9 cm (frame, external)
Category
Object type(s)