Cleveland Museum of Art

Portrait of a Youth as Saint Sebastian

Date

late 1480s

Medium

oil on wood, transferred to pressed wood

Culture

Italy, 15th century

Department

European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Sebastian, a bodyguard for the ancient Roman emperor Diocletian, was shot with arrows and was eventually drowned for his commitment to Christianity. While the arrow alludes to Saint Sebastian, the young man’s clothing dates to the late 1400s, indicating that this is a contemporary portrait, rather than an image of the historical saint. This haunting image was influenced by the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519), particularly in the artist’s use of smoky shadows (called sfumato) to model the flesh. It was painted by Marco d’Oggiono, a Milanese artist who worked in Leonardo’s studio. While Marco d'Oggiono made numerous copies of the masterpieces of his teacher Leonardo da Vinci, this is an original composition.

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