How you can use this image
This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).
Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.
The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
Buy a print or image licence
You can purchase this reproduction
If you have any products in your basket we recommend that you complete your purchase from Art UK before you leave our site to avoid losing your purchases.
Notes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
Saint Sebastian stands naked, covered only by a translucent loincloth. His youthful body is lean and muscly, and its strength, along with his upright pose and calm gaze, is at odds with the 12 arrows that pierce his flesh. According to the Golden Legend, a thirteenth-century compilation of the lives of the saints, Saint Sebastian – a Roman soldier who secretly became a Christian – was tied to a post and shot by Emperor Diocletian’s soldiers. Matteo has shown the saint victorious over death, crowned by two angels that hover above. In his left hand he holds another golden crown; in his right, a palm leaf, the traditional symbol of martyrdom, This picture may have been dedicated to the saint to ask for his protection, or in thanks for a cure.
Title
Saint Sebastian
Date
probably 1480-95
Medium
Tempera on wood
Measurements
H 126.4 x W 59.7 cm
Accession number
NG1461
Acquisition method
Bought, 1895
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
-
Madonna and Child with Saint Jerome and Saint Sebastian National Trust, Knightshayes Court -
Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist and Saint Michael the Archangel The Barber Institute of Fine Arts -
The Virgin and Child with Saint Sebastian, Saint Francis and Angels National Galleries of Scotland: National -
Angel Appearing to Joachim Birmingham Museums Trust -
The Assumption of the Virgin The National Gallery, London -
Saint Sebastian The National Gallery, London -
Christ Crowned with Thorns The National Gallery, London - 3 more