Luca Giordano
, Italian, 1634-1705
Title
Saint Sebastian Tended by Saint IreneDate1650/1652
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
152 x 127 cm
Credit LinePresented, 1868
Object numberNGI.79
DescriptionSebastian was an office in the army of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian (third century). When the Emperor discovered that Sebastian was a Christian he had him bound to a stake in the middle of a field and "archers shot at him until he looked like a hedgehog. Then thinking him dead they abandoned him". A Christian woman, Irene, came to bury him; she found him alive and nursed him back to full health. When the Emperor next saw Sebastian, he had him beaten to death, this time effectively.No. 79 at first attributed to Giordano by Langton Douglas, having been given to Caravaggio in the Gallery's catalogues from 1875 to 1920 inclusive. The Giordano attribution was fully accepted by Ferrari and Scavizzi. Mayer also accepted it and inserted it in that group of paintings inspired by Ribera. Consequently a date in the early 1650s would seem appropriate.
Label TextGiordano was one of the most accomplished and prolific artists of Naples during the Baroque era. This early work is strongly influenced by Giordano’s teacher, Jusepe de Ribera, and reflects the latter’s debt to Caravaggio’s dramatic realism. Sebastian was a Praetorian guard in the time of Diocletian, but was a Christian in secret. Revealing his beliefs when two of his companions were condemned resulted in his own execution. Preti depicted the saint tied to a tree while his body is pierced with arrows. Irene, a Christian woman, discovered he was still alive, however, and nursed him back to full health.