St. Sebastian
1469/74
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Sheet trimmed to platemark: 15.4 × 11.1 cm (6 1/8 × 4 3/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
68112
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The opportunity it offered to show a seminude man in a contorted pose made Saint Sebastian’s martyrdom a popular subject among 15th-century artists. Here the German printmaker Martin Schongauer depicted the saint leaning serenely against a delicately rendered tree, despite the numerous arrows protruding from his body. Schongauer took an iconic, simplified approach to this common theme by barely suggesting the background landscape. Unlike his highly complex, detailed compositions such as Saint Jo...
About the Artist
Martin Schongauer · 1435–1491
Martin Schongauer, born around 1450–1453 in Colmar, Alsace, emerged from a family of skilled artisans. The third of four or five sons of goldsmith Caspar Schongauer, who had relocated from Augsburg to Colmar around 1440, Martin was immersed in the goldsmith's trade from youth, likely receiving his initial training in his father's workshop—a common path for early engravers. He further honed his ski...