Italian Carravaggist

Italian Carravaggist
Saint Sebastian
Late 16th/early 17th century
Oil on canvas, relined
105.5 x 78 cm, with frame 118 x 91 cm
Technical examination “Complex Painting Examination” (in Hungarian) enclosed

This moving painting depicts St. Sebastian, one of the most famous early Christian martyrs. According to tradition, he was sentenced to death by arrow under Emperor Diocletian because of his faith. Contrary to all expectations, he survived this martyrdom – a woman, according to legend the pious widow Irene of Rome, found him and nursed him back to health.

The present painting takes up this scene: Sebastian’s almost naked body is at the center of the composition. A woman – presumably Irene – kneels before him and pulls an arrow from his leg with extreme care. Sebastian appears to be slumped over, his left hand elegantly curved over his head, his eyes closed and his gaze lowered. The intimacy of this depiction – the empathetic gesture, the closeness of the heads – is reminiscent of a *Lamentation of Christ* in its composition, in which the injured, helpless body is also at the center of emotional attention.

Stylistically, the work is close to the late Mannerism, an art movement characterized by deliberately heightened postures, refined compositions and a certain theatricality. The painting is particularly comparable to works by **Palma il Giovane** (1544-1628), a Venetian painter of the late 16th century who painted religious and mythological scenes with dramatic gestures and vivid colors. The Bavarian State Painting Collection in Munich owns a *Saint Sebastian* by Palma il Giovane, who is tied to a tree in the classical pose – in contrast to the more intimate version shown here, in which Sebastian is already freed from the tree but still marked by martyrdom.

Several technical examinations – including multispectral photography, X-rays, non-destructive material analyses, pigment biopsies and element mapping – confirm both the dating and the stylistic classification of the work. The pigments used are consistent with the painting practice of the time, and minor later restorations have been documented.

This haunting scene combines physical suffering with spiritual transcendence – in the pictorial language of a painter who, under the influence of Caravaggio, impressively stages the drama of light, the humanity of the figures and the emotionality of the moment.