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St Sebastian
Germany; 1st half 17th c.
Georg Petel
(Weilheim, Bavaria, ca. 1601/1602 - Augsburg, 1633)

St Sebastian was already mentioned in the writings of St Gregory and the Acts of Apostles. He was the patron saint of protection against the plague and was venerated for centuries. Among the 17th c. representations of St Sebastian this one was the most popular, depicting the Saint's lonely figure tied to a tree after torture. His exhausted, weak body is broken and has slumped down to the bottom of the tree. Omitting narrative, the artist gives a divine aura to the Saint's figure, expressing Sebastian's victory over death.