Matteo di Giovanni, 'Saint Sebastian', probably 1480-95

Saint Sebastian stands naked, covered only by a translucent loincloth. His youthful body is lean and muscly and he gracefully rests his weight on one leg, a pose called contrapposto which was used in ancient sculpture of the pagan gods.

The strength of his body, upright pose and calm gaze are at odds with the 12 arrows that pierce his flesh. According to the Golden Legend, a thirteenth-century compilation of the lives of the saints, Saint Sebastian – a Roman soldier who secretly became a Christian – was tied to a post and shot by Emperor Diocletian’s soldiers: ‘They shot so many arrows into his body that he looked like a porcupine.’ He miraculously survived this torture but was later beaten to death. Matteo has shown Sebastian victorious over death, crowned by two angels that hover above. In his left hand he holds another golden crown, as though a prize for a young athlete; in his right, a palm leaf, the traditional symbol of martyrdom.

During his lifetime Saint Sebastian converted many people to Christianity; according to his legend, they were then cured of their diseases. He was a popular saint in Italy in the late medieval and Renaissance periods and very often chosen for paintings as he was thought to protect Christians against the plague. This picture may have been made as a votive image – a picture dedicated to the saint to ask for his protection, or in thanks for a cure. Alternatively it may have formed part of a multi-panelled altarpiece, or simply been used for private prayer to the saint.

Sebastian’s spiritual might is expressed in the giant scale of his body, which seems excessively large in comparison with the mountains beyond. These apparently oversized holy figures, dominating their surroundings, were a feature of Matteo’s later works (see, for example, The Assumption of the Virgin). The arid landscape with its small sprigs of greenery in a sandy ground recalls that of his Assumption, as well as that of Piero della Francesca’s Nativity. Matteo was certainly aware of Piero’s works and the sculptural effect of Sebastian’s body echoes that of Christ in Piero’s Baptism of Christ.