The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian

Hans von Aachen, artist

1552–1615

The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, late 1500s–early 1600s

Where object was made: Germany

Material/technique: oil; copper

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 33 x 22.2 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 13 x 8 3/4 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 18 x 14 in

Credit line: Museum purchase

Accession number: 1959.0038

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums
A fourth-century Roman centurion (professional
army officer), Sebastian was denounced as a Christian and sentenced to death. Taken to a field, he was “pierced with arrows like a hedgehog.” He miraculously survived. Through his martyrdom, Sebastian was believed to acquire an intimacy with God that bestowed him with powers to intercede on behalf of pious devotees. He became a popular saint called upon to ward off disease, gaining particular popularity during the plague epidemics in 14th- and 15th-century Europe. In the 16th century, depictions, such as this one, suggest a more erotic image of Sebastian with arrows poised to penetrate his nude torso.This intimate oil on copper painting is based on a larger format engraving by Jan Muller, a print that popularized the 1594 oil on canvas altar
painting by Hans von Aachen.

Archive Label 1999:
Born in France, St. Sebastian was a Roman centurion under the emperor Diocletian and was condemned to death when he refused to recant his Christianity. He was shot full of arrows, as depicted in this painting. A putto flies down from above carrying Sebastian the palm branch and wreath of martyrdom. Sebastian was rescued by saint Irene, who nursed him back to health, only to have him recaptured, beaten to death, and thrown in the sewer (the cloacus maximus, specifically). St. Sebastian is a patron saint of Rome and protector from the plague.

The German artist Hans von Aachen worked for a time in Italy before settling in 1592 at the brilliant court of Emperor Rudolph II in Prague. This seems to have been a very popular version of the St. Sebastian story around 1600 and there are many examples of this composition by von Aachen and other artists.