San sebastiano andrea mantegna biography

The martyrdom of Saint Sebastian is one of the most enduring themes in Western religious art.

Saint Sebastian (died c.

San sebastiano andrea mantegna biography

288) was a Christian saint and martyr, who is said to have been killed during the Roman emperor Maximian's persecution of Christians. He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post and shot with arrows. The execution scene so often portrayed - with the Saint transfixed with arrows - is based on the legend about his life and death during the reign of the Roman emperor, Diocletian.

However, it is the symbolic association of arrows with the Black Death - during the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance - which identifies Sebastian as the patron saint of plague victims. After more than four centuries of recurrent epidemics, the plague died out in Europe; but the image of St Sebastian continued to inspire artists until the end of the 19th century.

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