Artwork Page for St. Sebastian

Details / Information for St. Sebastian

St. Sebastian

1626–30

Jusepe de Ribera

(Spanish, 1591–1652)
Culture
Spain, active in Naples, 17th century
Medium
red chalk with pen and brown ink
Support
Cream(3) laid paper
Measurements
Sheet: 17.3 x 12.4 cm (6 13/16 x 4 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Delia E. Holden Fund 1997.53
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Did You Know?

This is one of a group of drawings by Jusepe de Ribera that represent male saints in scenes of torture and deprived of physical liberty.

Description

This subtly drawn study in red chalk with ink accents depicts the moment just before the Roman soldier Sebastian was shot through with arrows for refusing to renounce his Christian faith. The young martyr turns hopefully toward heaven as if comforted by divine light. Ribera favored the subject because it allowed him to study the expressive possibilities of the bound human figure. A number of related drawings by the artist from the same period treat similar themes of saints bound in punishment. Although Spanish by birth, Jusepe de Ribera spent most of his life in Naples, where he became the dominant artistic figure until his death in 1652.
A vertically oriented loosely sketched drawing in red-brown chalk depicts Saint Sebastian, a man with light skin tone wearing only a cloth around his waist. His right arm extends straight up, tethered to a tree that arcs to the right, Saint Sebastian's body following its arc. He looks up, his left arm bending at a right angle tight away from his side. Dark brown ink creates the upper tree and wrist tie, against a cream background.

St. Sebastian

1626–30

Jusepe de Ribera

(Spanish, 1591–1652)
Spain, active in Naples, 17th century

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