Collection Online as of February 5, 2023

Saint Sebastian

1620s or later

cast after a model probably by Georg Petel

(German, c. 1601-c. 1634)

Germany, 17th century

Bronze

Overall: 53.3 x 20.3 x 16.5 cm (21 x 8 x 6 1/2 in.)

Bequest of James Parmelee 1940.585

Location

301 Baroque Sculpture Mezzanine

Description

This composition is the subject of an ongoing attribution debate. The design is adapted from a painting by Adam Elsheimer, a German artist working Rome. This sculptural model exists in many versions; however, they vary considerably in their execution, complicating the identification, because they were clearly not made by a single sculptor or workshop. However, Georg Petel probably first created the design as he traveled across Italy in 1620–24, where his portrait was painted holding this composition.

Provenance

James Parmelee, 1855-1931 (Washington, DC), upon his death, held in trust by the estate.

Estate of James Parmalee, by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1940.

Citations

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 114 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 114 archive.org

Exhibition history

Allentown Art Museum: Gothic to Baroque, October 29, 1960-January 31, 1961, cat. no. 25, repr.

Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA: Baroque Sculpture, March 7-March 27, 1965.

CMA 1984: Baroque Imagery, November 6, 1984-January 6, 1985, cat. no. 18, pp. 44-45, repr. p. 44.

Gothic to Baroque. Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA (organizer) (October 29, 1960-January 31, 1961).

Baroque Sculpture. Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA (organizer) (March 7-27, 1965).

Baroque Imagery. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 1984-January 6, 1985).