Rijksmuseum

Saint Sebastian

Date

c. 1525

Medium

walnut (hardwood)

Culture

Mechelen

Institution

Rijksmuseum

The tortured Sebastian – persecuted in 3rd-century Rome for his Christian faith – has an elegantly twisted pose, with an almost feminine face. There is no question of the kind of explicit realism that stresses pain and suffering. The Renaissance manifests itself clearly here. The statue originally hung in the hospital of Onze-Lieve- Vrouw in Mechelen, where it was venerated by plague sufferers hoping to be cured.

The authoritative record is held by Rijksmuseum. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.