Spanish school; 18th century.

Spanish school; XVIII century.
"San Sebastian".
Carved and polychrome wood.
Presents faults and base of later period.
Measurements: 81 x 46 x 20 cm.
Carving worked in round bulk, belonging to the early Renaissance. The martyrdom of Saint Sebastian was one of the most represented during the Renaissance, since it allowed the artists to study the anatomy of a young and naked body. The sculpture in question presents the most interesting elements of the period: the precise turning of the limbs, the anatomical beauty, the flexible musculature and the serenity of a face that remains oblivious to suffering. It is rather melancholy that the countenance conveys. The carving is of quality, which can be appreciated in every detail: the curved breasts, the sensual draping of the drapery, the slight movement of one leg and the twisting of the knee.
Born in Gaul and raised in Milan, Sebastian was a centurion of the first cohort in the time of Emperor Diocletian (late 3rd - early 4th century). Denounced because he exhorted his friends Mark and Marcellinus to remain firm in their faith, by order of the emperor he was tied to a post in the center of the field of Mars, and served as a live target for the archers who shot him. But he did not die for it. The widow Irene, who wanted to raise his body for burial, noticed that he was still breathing, bandaged his wounds and saved his life. After his cure he reappeared before Diocletian to reproach him for his cruelty to the Christians. Then he was scourged, beaten to death in the circus and his corpse was thrown into the sewer Maximus.