Terms and conditions of use
Saint Sebastian being cured by Irene
(c. 1653)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
142.0 × 195.7 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1934
Gallery location
17th to 18th Century European Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Sebastian was a member of the Roman imperial guard in the second century CE who used his position to encourage imprisoned Christians to persevere in their faith. Arrested and accused before the pagan emperors Maximian and Diocletian, Sebastian was tied to a stake, shot at with arrows and left for dead. Miraculously surviving this torture, he was nursed back to health by Irene, the widow of another martyr, only to be arrested again and bludgeoned to death in the Hippodrome. The dramatic lighting and taut compression of space employed here by Luca Giordano are typical of work he made during his early years in Naples.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Naples, Campania, Italy
Accession Number
214-4
Department
International Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Religion and Mythology
Subjects (specific)
executions by arrows healing Irene, Saint (Christian character) Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (Christian iconography) men (male humans) Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint Irene (Christian iconography) Sebastian, Saint (Christian character) suffering