M HKA Ensembles

Painting, 199.7 x 105.5 cm.

Collection: Private Collection | Courtesy of the National Museum of History and Art LuxembourgKoninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (2021).

Sebastian was a captain of the Praetorian Guard who was to protect the Roman emperor Diocletan. When the Emperor discovered that Sebastian had converted to Christianity, he had him tied to a tree stump and shot at by archers. They left him for dead. Saint Irene of Rome found Sebastian barely alive, but nursed him back to health. Once recovered, Sebastian decided to accuse the Emperor personally for the persecution of the faith and the atrocities committed. Following this moral reprimand, he was beaten to death with cudgels by imperial order. This happened in the year 288.

Since the sixth century, artists have portrayed the pierced and often writhing body of Sebastian. Believers attributed powers to Sebastian previously attributed to Apollo – the Greek god and archer was known to punish with pestilence, but also that he could make the plague disappear again. The worship of the saint increased rapidly in densely populated cities and regions that were repeatedly hit by epidemics. This was also the case in Andalusia, where he was worshipped together with Saint Roch by victims of bubonic plague and cholera.

It is suspected that Zurbarán painted this impressive canvas for the San Agustín Monastery in Seville, the most important home and care centre of the Augustinian Order in the region. The saint clearly stands out against the sombre sky and the desolate landscape and can be recognized in a ward or a prayer room from a great distance. Zurbarán gave the saint remarkably individual facial features.

Text: Nico Van Hout, 2018