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Italian Renaissance Learning Resources

In collaboration with the National Gallery of Art

Recovering the Golden Age

Saint Sebastian

Saint Sebastian

Amico Aspertini<br /><em>Saint Sebastian</em>, c. 1505<br />Oil on panel, 114.9 x 66 cm (45 1/4 x 26 in.)<br />National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Samuel H. Kress Collection<br />Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art

Amico Aspertini
Saint Sebastian, c. 1505
Oil on panel, 114.9 x 66 cm (45 1/4 x 26 in.)
National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Samuel H. Kress Collection
Image courtesy of the Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art

 

 Explain that the painting represents Saint Sebastian, a Christian condemned to death by the Roman emperor Diocletian. Sebastian miraculously survived execution by arrows.

1) Q: What visual evidence suggests the impact of classical artifacts on this painting?

A: Responses might include:

  • Bas-relief with mythological imagery
  • Column and fragments
  • Drapery
  • Nudity
  • Idealization of the male body

2) Q: In what respects has the body been idealized?

A: Responses might include:

  • Youthfulness
  • A pose that accentuates sensuousness and curves
  • Pleasing proportions
  • Athletic build; slender yet muscular
  • Smooth, hairless skin
  • Placid expression; no evidence of mental or physical suffering
  • Beautiful, rather feminine facial features

3) Q: What purpose does the bas-relief serve?

A: Responses might include:

  • Appeals to the Renaissance taste for classical antiquity
  • Establishes the approximate date and location of the scene (Roman Empire)
  • Makes analogies between Saint Sebastian and ideal nudes in sculpture
  • Scene of mourning reinforces tragic mood
  • Contrasts pagan mythology with Christian religion
  • Accentuates artist’s skill in simulating and differentiating materials (i.e., human body made of flesh vs. human body made of marble)

4) Q: Renaissance artists often employed the broken column to symbolize the virtue of fortitude — here, Sebastian’s miraculous fortitude in withstanding the assault by Diocletian’s archers. What other meaning(s) might the broken column and fallen fragments convey in this painting?

A: Responses might include:

  • Saint Sebastian’s broken body
  • A life cut short
  • The decline and fall of imperial Rome
  • Foreshadowing the ubiquity of antique fragments and ruins in Renaissance Rome