St. Sebastian

The opportunity it offered to show a seminude man in a contorted pose made Saint Sebastian’s martyrdom a popular subject among 15th-century artists. Here the German printmaker Martin Schongauer depicted the saint leaning serenely against a delicately rendered tree, despite the numerous arrows protruding from his body. Schongauer took an iconic, simplified approach to this common theme by barely suggesting the background landscape. Unlike his highly complex, detailed compositions such as Saint John the Evangelist on Patmos (1968.121), this print emphasizes the contrast between the graceful figure of Sebastian bound to the tree and the predominantly blank background.