Saint Sebastian

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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A pale young man stands in a stone niche, almost naked and seemingly unaware of the arrows in his arm and leg. This is Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier who secretly converted to Christianity. When his faith was discovered, he was shot with arrows but miraculously survived.

Here, the saint seems more like a classical statue than a living figure. Cima must have been aware of Tullio Lombardo’s famous Adam (made around 1490–5), the first nude marble statue sculpted since antiquity; he has replicated the figure’s stance, curly hair and slightly vacant expression almost precisely.

This painting is one of two in the National Gallery’s collection which must have formed the side panels of a multi-panelled altarpiece, but we are not sure when they were made, or where for.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

Saint Sebastian

Date

about 1500

Medium

Oil on wood

Measurements

H 103.2 x W 40.6 cm

Accession number

NG4946

Acquisition method

Mond Bequest, 1924; entered the Collection in 1938

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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