St. Sebastian

According to tradition, the Roman officer Sebastian was murdered because of his Christian faith. In most cases Sebastian is depicted tied to a tree, wearing nothing but a loincloth, and with arrows in his chest. The representation of the injured, emaciated, almost naked body which was common into the 16th century conveyed, on the one hand, the hardship of Sebastian, who suffered the pain of persecution and martyrdom. On the other hand, it made him a direct successor of Christ, whose suffering was given similar external representation. From the Baroque era however, Sebastian was represented as strikingly handsome and athletic, as seen in the Düsseldorf specimen. The injury and suffering of the beautiful body as well as its natural appearance, achieved with a subtle finish, inevitably leads to feelings of compassion in the observer. In commissioning such depictions, the Catholic Church intended that observers internalize these feelings and thus understand the religious messages being conveyed. (Katja Storalow)