Saint Sebastian, unknown maker from Germany

Exhibition Label: "Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums Due to its large size, this sculpture was probably intended for an altarpiece. It may have been displayed as a single niche figure, either by itself or as part of an expanded program. Markedly absent from this 17th-century carved saint is any reference to martyrdom. Gone is the tree. Lost are the 21 arrows that once pierced his skin - the holes having long ago been filled-in and painted over. All that remains is his body. The focus has shifted from the executioners delivering a volley of arrows into Sebastian’s flesh to an isolated scene of suffering. Here, without his familiar attributes, the saint confronts the viewer with his lithe and graceful form unencumbered. Clad in a gilded loincloth knotted simply at his hip, Sebastian’s physicality becomes magnified, his languid movements arrested.