Saint Sebastian

Description According to legend, Sebastian was a Roman soldier who refused to deny his Christian faith and worship the emperor as a god. In consequence, he was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. He survived but was then beaten to death. Sebastian's strained gesture with one arm extended presupposes the existence of a tree (now missing), probably also in wood. Even in its awkwardness, the saint's lean, wiry body appears to be based on observation of nature.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
1/12/1962	Treatment	cleaned
10/28/1987	Examination	examined for condition
10/28/1987	Treatment	cleaned

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters