Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00009335Study for "The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian" (for the Augustinian monastery at Diessen, Germany)
Also known as: The Martyrdom of St. Sebastian
About the Artwork
In 1739 a pair of monumental altarpieces by two Venetian painters (Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Giambattista Pittoni) were installed in a church in southern Germany, part of a carefully orchestrated decorative program that included architecture, painting, sculpture, and decorative stuccowork. This sketch is Tiepolo’s initial design for his altarpiece, submitted for approval before beginning the final work. With quick, assured brushstrokes, he represents the Christian martyr Sebastian bound to a tree and shot with arrows, flooded with radiant light to symbolize his devotion to his faith.
Provenance
Sale, Munich, 1804, unsold and then transferred to the Zentralgemäldegalerie 1804-1852: Bayerischen Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Munich, deaccessioned and sold at auction 1852: (Sale, Schloss Schleißheim, Augsburg, April 13-23, 1852, lot 16, sold to “Eberle”) 1852-1860: Possibly Robert Eberle [1815-1860], Munich, probably by descent to a Vienna collector1 Late 19th century -1921: Collector, Vienna, sold to a “minor collector”1 1921-1928?: “Minor collector,” Vienna, probably sold or consigned to Galerie Fröhlich1 1928: (Galerie Fröhlich, Vienna, sold to Jacques Seligmann & Co.)1 1928-by 1930?: (Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York, NY, probably sold to Dr. Max Kadisch)1 By 1930? - 1917/1938: Probably Dr. Max Kadisch, Vienna, to Jacques Seligmann & Co.1 1937/1938 - 1946: (Jacques Seligmann & Co., New York, New York, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)1 1946-: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio Delia E. Holden and L.E. Holden Funds
Exhibition history
Venice 1700-1800: An Exhibition of the Venetian Eighteenth Century. Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields; The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI (organizer) (September 30-November 2, 1952). The Venetian Tradition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 8, 1956-January 1, 1957). The Tiepolos and Their World. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 6-November 22, 1981). Giambattista Tiepolo: Master of the Oil Sketch. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (organizer) (September 18-December 12, 1993). Heaven on Earth (Tiepolo in Würzburg). Würzburg Residenz (organizer) (February 14-May 19, 1996).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Giovanni Battista Tiepolo (Italian, 1696–1770)
- Date
- 1739
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- Framed: 67.5 x 45.5 x 6 cm (26 9/16 x 17 15/16 x 2 3/8 in.); Unframed: 51.7 x 31.7 cm (20 3/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- Painting
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Delia E. Holden and L. E. Holden Funds
- Accession no.
- 1946.277
More by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00009335
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