by Joan K. Yanni
 |
| St.Sebastian |
A recent acquisition
joined St. Peter, St. Barbara, and other MAG sculptures in the Northern
Renaissance gallery. St.
Sebastian (91.1) was purchased for
the Gallery's permanent collection after a long search for a noteworthy example
of Gothic sculpture from late medieval Germany.
The statue is an
exceptionally fine piece of Bavarian work from around 1470. It has been
associated with two sculptures from the high altar of the church of the
Cistercian Abbey of Furstenfeld, near Munich, and is attributed to the Master
of Furstenfeld, thought to be sculptor Ulrich Neunhauser (1405-1472).
The piece is 54 inches
high, carefully carved of linden wood, and was once polychromed. Its face
is serene and thoughtful, its hair soft and flowing. The youthful figure
is covered by a mantle which is held across the waist by the right hand, as if
to cover the saint's nakedness. The saint's left wrist is tied to a
branch; the hand is missing. The bare left arm and the upper body show
marks of arrows, sign of Sebastian's martyrdom. The toes of the left foot
and the arrows, once jutting from the figure, are also missing. Under the
garment, the right leg crosses over the left in a graceful, slightly forward
movement.
Since the back of the
statue is hollowed out and the legs and figure elongated, it was no doubt made
to be placed near—or against—a wall and to be seen from below. It was
probably once part of an altarpiece, but it is not clear whether it was to
stand alone or as part of a larger composition.
Though details about St.
Sebastian cannot be verified, he is said to have been born in Milan in the
third century. He was an officer in Diocletian's Imperial Guard, which he
entered in order to give help to the Christians being persecuted by Rome.When
it was discovered that he was a Christian, he was sentenced to be slain with
arrows. Though he was left for dead by his executioners, the arrows had
not pierced a vital organ (a matter not always noted by painters and
sculptors), and he was found and nursed back to health by a woman named Irene,
widow of another martyr. When his survival was discovered, he was
battered to death with cudgels and his body thrown into the Roman sewer.
Sebastian is a favorite
subject of Renaissance and Counter-Reformation artists and was often used as a
vehicle for portraying the male nude. He is usually shown pierced with
arrows, often with a soldier's helmet and shield at his feet. Some
paintings reveal a background of the Palatine Hill in Rome, where his death was
said to have taken place.
Since the ancients
believed that Apollo's arrows caused disease, and since Sebastian escaped death
by arrow, he was thought to be one of the saints who could protect against
pestilence.
Docents can use the
statue in tours on "Adventures in the Ancient World" or on any tours
of sculpture or European art. It can be compared to the sculptures of St.
Peter, St. Barbara and others now in the same gallery, or to the Spanish
crucifix and the statues of Mary and John in the Fountain Court. Or
Sebastian and his arrows, though missing, could be used on a tour of clues to the
saints: Peter's key, Catherine's wheel, Francis's stigmata, Barbara's
tower, Elizabeth's bread, Magdalene's ointment jar, etc.
Sources: Curatorial files; Hall,
James: Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, Harper and
Rowe, 1974. For further information see Baxendall, Michael, The
Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany, New Haven, Yale University
Press, 1981.
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