
Sebastian was a centurion sentenced to death by the Emperor Diocletian for his Christian faith. He was shot with arrows and left for dead. The arrows did not kill him and he was eventually stoned to death. His story is told in 'The Golden Legend'. In the 17th century this painting was recorded with 'Saint Mark ''(?)' as part of an altarpiece in the church of S. Maria dei Crociferi in Venice.