Italy / c. 1493
Saint Sebastian
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Saint Sebastian as drawing (Italy · c. 1493).
The elegant pose of Saint Sebastian here was used by the artist in at least two finished paintings of the saint.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this drawing as metalpoint and credits Perugino (Italian, c. 1450/55–1523).
The museum's collection notes: The Florentine painter Perugino made drawings to record figural types and poses that could be repeated throughout his finished paintings. He used the elegant, graceful figure seen here, with its soft athletic body and upwardly turned gaze, in at least two paintings of the 3rd-century martyr Saint Sebastian (the related paintings are now in the collection of the Galleria degli Uffizi, and the Louvre). Sebastian was shot with arrows after being exposed as a Christian convert; he was particularly revered during the Renaissance as a protector against illness such as the plague. Portrayal of the saint required Perugino to express his knowledge of
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtSaint SebastianOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.