''Saint Sebastian at the Column'' is a 1500 copper

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

by the German artist

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer (; ; hu, Ajtósi Adalbert; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer (without an umlaut) or Due ...

(1471–1528), part of his series of the ''Lives of the Saints''. Dürer intended the work to represent both an idealised vision of 15th-century beauty, and an homage to

classical sculpture Classical sculpture (usually with a lower case "c") refers generally to sculpture from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, as well as the Hellenized and Romanized civilizations under their rule or influence, from about 500 BC to around 200 AD. It ma ...

. According to legend, Saint Sebastian was martyred by the Roman emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

for his

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

faith. By the 16th century, artists were using Christian tales as an excuse to portray the humanistic nude body. The four arrows piercing Sebastian's body represent a symbolic wounding of a flawless body. The saint's pose echoes the Crucifixion, and like the saviour, Saint Sebastian is said to have risen from the dead, though in his case to punish those who have persecuted Christians for their beliefs. The engraving is an early example of the use of contrapposto in

Western art The art of Europe, or Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period between the Paleol ...

, and one of the first depictions of the harmonic balance between opposing forces (in this case between the arrows and the flesh). Dürer encountered such concepts during his travels to north Italy, where he also found the inspiration for the harmonic contrast he renders between Saint Sebastian's engaged leg and his free leg.

Sources

*Nürnberg, Verlag Hans Carl. ''Dürer in Dublin: Engravings and woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer''. Chester Beatty Library, 1983. *Kurth, Dr. Willi. ''The complete woodcuts of Albrecht Durer''. New York: Arden Book Co, 1935. {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Sebastian At The Column (Durer) Prints by Albrecht Dürer 1500 works 16th-century prints Durer Torture in art Catholic engraving

See also

Sources