St Sebastian (Perugino, Louvre)
| Saint Sebastian | |
|---|---|
Perugino | |
| Year | 1495 |
| Medium | oil on oak panel |
| Dimensions | 176 cm × 116 cm (69 in × 46 in) |
| Location | Louvre, Paris |
Saint Sebastian is a c.1495 painting of
Barberini
collection in Rome, which was later dispersed. Several pieces from it were taken abroad during the 19th century, with St Sebastian being bought by the Louvre in 1896.
It shows the saint in a
contraposto pose drawn from the Doryphoros of Polykleitos, echoed in a later autograph copy now in São Paulo. The symmetrical composition draws on Perugino's earlier works - he first used the motif in St Sebastian between St Roch and St Peter, a fresco painted in Cerqueto near Perugia. He stands on a terrace beneath a monumental arch with grotesque-decorated pilasters and a balustrade. On the base of the platform is the Latin inscription "SAGITTAE. TUAE.INFIXAE. SUNT. MICHI", drawn from Psalm 38:2
("Thy arrows are fixed in me"). The deep landscape background is typical of the artist, with wooded hills and mountains. To the left are a ruined vault and pillar, symbolising the downfall of the pagan world.
References
- French Ministry of Culture. (in French)
- ^ Saint Sébastien, Louvre collections
Bibliography
- (in Italian) Vittoria Garibaldi, Perugino, in Pittori del Rinascimento, Scala, Florence, 2004 ISBN 888117099X
External links
Media related to Saint Sebastian - Pietro Perugino - Louvre RF 957 at Wikimedia Commons
