The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian

The present work is considered to be a sketch for Hans von Aachen’s full-size altarpiece in St Sebastian’s chapel in St Michael’s Hofkirche, Munich. In 1993, Dr. Eliška Fucíková confirmed the attribution to Hans von Aachen, calling it ‘undoubtedly autograph’ and created around 1587, when the artist returned to Munich from Italy. Fucíková expanded to add that the brilliantly painted figures of the archers in the background, the sketched nature of the riders and the pentimenti are all characteristic of Van Aachen himself and that the panel stood as a ‘significant enrichment’ of the artist's activities in Bavaria. The finished altarpiece was engraved by Jan Müller, which was widely disseminated amongst contemporaries and prompted many painted copies.

Saint Sebastian had been an officer in the Roman army before converting to Christianity, for which he was sentenced to death by the Emperor Diocletian. The present work presents the subsequent passage, when the martyr saint was tied to a tree and shot with arrows. One tradition holds that Saint Irene, a noble Roman lady, tended his wounds and brought him back to health, while another suggests that he was saved by angels who intervened on his behalf. Healed, Sebastian went before the emperor to warn him of his sins. In response, Diocletian ordered that Sebastian be beaten to death and his body discarded in the city’s sewer so that it would remain unburied.