Saint Sebastian
Artist: Giovanni Battista Cima Da Conegliano (Italian, About 1459/60 - about 1517/18)
Original Dimensions: 40 5/8" x 16"
Location: National Gallery of Art, London
About Artwork: (About 1500) "A pale young man stands in a stone niche, almost naked and seemingly unaware of the arrows in his arm and leg. This is Saint Sebastian, a Roman soldier who secretly converted to Christianity. When his faith was discovered, he was shot with arrows but miraculously survived. Here, the saint seems more like a classical statue than a living figure. Cima must have been aware of Tullio Lombardo’s famous Adam (made around 1490–5), the first nude marble statue sculpted since antiquity; he has replicated the figure’s stance, curly hair and slightly vacant expression almost precisely. This painting is one of two in the National Gallery’s collection which must have formed the side panels of a multi-panelled altarpiece, but we are not sure when they were made, or where for." - (National Gallery of Art, London)

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