Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian
Cecco del Caravaggio (Francesco Buoneri)
Not on view
A member of the third-century Roman emperor’s praetorian guard, Sebastian was secretly a Christian. When this was discovered, he was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. The disturbingly sadistic action of the bowman is typical of Cecco’s unconventional approach to traditional subjects. He employs the cut-off figure in the lower right as a surrogate for the passive viewer.
As a youth, Cecco had modeled for Caravaggio and thus learned firsthand the manner of achieving a startling realism from the practice of painting directly from posed models viewed in raking light. The sharp focus and emotional impact of his pictures deeply impressed the young Valentin.
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