Saint Sebastian (El Greco, 1576–1579) facts for kids

Saint Sebastian (also called Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian) is a famous painting by El Greco. His real name was Doménikos Theotokópoulos. This painting shows Saint Sebastian in a very unusual kneeling position. Some art experts think El Greco might have copied this pose from other famous artists he looked up to. You can see this painting today in the Palencia Cathedral in Spain.

The Painting's Story: Who Owned It?

We don't know the exact history of this painting. Art experts believe El Greco painted it between 1576 and 1579. This was during his first ten years living in Spain.

Many experts think the painting was made for Diego de Castilla. He was a dean at the Toledo Cathedral. Diego de Castilla helped El Greco get his first big art jobs in Spain. So, it made sense that he would also ask El Greco to paint Saint Sebastian.

However, not everyone agrees. Another expert, Jesus San Martin Payo, found old writings. These writings suggest the painting might have belonged to Don Juan Alonso de Cordoba. He worked for Bishop Juan Ramirez Zapata de Cardenas. The painting is still in the same room where Don Juan Alonso de Cordoba kept it. If this is true, the painting would be even older. It would have been painted before El Greco's other famous Spanish work, El Espolio.

What the Painting Is About

This painting shows Saint Sebastian. He was a Christian who lived a long time ago. The Roman Emperor Diocletian tried to stop Christianity in the 4th century AD.

According to an old story, Sebastian was tied to a tree. Soldiers shot him with arrows. But he didn't die! He was saved and healed. Later, he became a martyr when he was killed with clubs.

Saint Sebastian is a very popular saint. People in both the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches honor him. In the 1400s and 1500s, people often prayed to Saint Sebastian. They believed he could help protect them from the plague. This was because he was shot with arrows, which people thought were a sign of sickness. But he survived!

Looking Closely at the Painting

The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian is painted in a style called late-Renaissance. It shows how well El Greco learned to paint in Italy. The figure of Saint Sebastian looks graceful and natural.

Sebastian's eyes are looking up to the sky. Maybe he is talking to God. Or maybe he is accepting that he is about to die. He seems calm, almost like he is okay with what is happening.

Behind Sebastian, you can see a stormy landscape. El Greco used quick brushstrokes to paint it. Like most paintings of Saint Sebastian, he is tied to a tree. An arrow is stuck in his side.

But this painting is special. El Greco painted Sebastian kneeling down. Most artists, including El Greco himself in another painting, show Saint Sebastian standing. In this painting, Sebastian is tied to the tree by a rope around his raised arm. He is resting most of his weight on a large rock. El Greco even signed his name on this rock!

Comparing It to Other Great Artists

Many people have talked about this unusual kneeling pose. Andrew Casper, an art expert, says it might be a "quotation" from Michelangelo's work. A "quotation" in art means taking an idea or pose from another artist's work.

Some experts believe El Greco's Sebastian looks like Michelangelo's statue called The Genius of Victory. This would show that El Greco really admired Michelangelo. This is interesting because El Greco once said that Michelangelo didn't know how to paint! But some think El Greco was just saying that color was more important than drawing in painting.

Another expert, George A. Rodetis, compares Sebastian's pose to Michelangelo's Punishment of Haman. This is a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Rodetis thinks El Greco might have copied Michelangelo to show that fresco painting has limits. He might have felt it was hard to show deep feelings in fresco.

However, Rodetis also suggests another idea. El Greco might have been inspired by Titian's painting of Saint Sebastian. Titian was another famous artist. In Titian's Averoldi Altarpiece, Saint Sebastian is also hanging from ropes tied to a tree. And just like El Greco, Titian signed his painting on a stone under Saint Sebastian's foot.

Images for kids

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  Detail from Titian's Averoldi Altarpiece

See also

In Spanish: San Sebastián (El Greco, Palencia) para niños

• List of works by El Greco
• Saint Sebastian (El Greco, 1610-1614)

Sources

• Brown, Jonathan. "El Greco and Toledo". In El Greco of Toledo, 75–147. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1982.
• Casper, Andrew. Art and the Religious Image in El Greco's Italy. Philadelphia: Penn State university Press, 2014.
• Gelpi, Armand P. “Saint Sebastian and the Black Death.” Vesalius, IV, no 1 (1998): 23–30.
• Liepa, Valentina. The Image of Saint Sebastian in Art. (2009)
• Rodetis, George A. “El Greco's Statements on Michelangelo the Painter.” The Journal of Aesthetic Education, Vol. 31, No.3 (1997): 25–37. JSTOR 3333485
• San Martin Payo, Jesus. “Gestiones Realizadas Por El Cabildo De Palencia Para Encontrar y Trasladar El Cuerpo de su Patrono S. Antolin 1606-1609 Con la Vida y Martririo del Santo” [Proceedings Carried Out By The Cabildo De Palencia To Find and Relocate The Body of its Patron S. Antolin 1606-1609 With the Life and Martyrdom of the Saint]. (1986) 181–243. Accessed from the Catedral de Palencia website, November 2017, http://catedraldepalencia.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SANMARTIN_PITTM_54_1986.pdf.
• Scholz-Hansel, Michael. El Greco. Taschen Basic Art, 2004.
• Wethey, Harold E. “El Greco in Rome and the Portrait of Vincenzo Anastagi.” Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 13 (1984): 171–178. JSTOR 42617974